little is known of his early life. in his three-volume "schouburg", arnold houbraken mentioned him in his first volume with an entreaty to readers to write to him with more news of breenbergh's biography. he had been told that breenberg was born in utrecht and had been a master of cornelis van poelenburgh, which he knew to be impossible from the facts that he already had, namely "the birth of poelenburg in 1586 and the death of breenberg in 1660." houbraken never received the information he requested, though he mentioned breenbergh again in his second volume in a list of 59 competent painters who were contemporaries of abraham bloemaert and paulus potter.