Cornelis Troost (1696-1750) Born in Amsterdam, painter Cornelis Troost was the son of a bookkeeper and an actress. The young Troost seemed destined for a stage career: he acted at Amsterdam’s Schouwburg theatre from 1719 to 1724. Yet from 1723, his focus was painting. It was in that year that he became an apprentice to portraitist Arnold Boonen. Troost emerged as one of t...