A painter of woodlands, townscapes and panoramas van der Haagen most likely studied with his father, Abraham, before moving to the Hague in 1639 where he joined the St. Luke’s guild in 1643. His delicate drawings form an important part of his artistic output; proof of fairly extensive painting trips in the southern Netherlands, Rhineland Germany and France. Views and recurring motifs from the landscapes of Kleve, Arnhem and Maastricht in particular, feature in many of his paintings. View of the Swanenturm, Kleve (The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, inv.c.138) is one of his best known pictures. Since van der Haagen did not paint his own staffage, it is more than likely that the drovers and travellers with their livestock in the foreground were painted by Ludolf de Jongh (1616-1697).