J.C.K. Klinkenberg, a pupil of J.H.L. Meijer and C. Bisschop, specialised in painting historic city views, often sundrenched and reflected in the water of a canal or inland harbour.
His contemporaries admired the effect of sunlight in his paintings: a strong, dazzling light that powerfully lit up the red bricks and white sandstone of the old Dutch gables. Countless Dutch cities were immortalised by him. The topographical representation and impressionist manner with which Klinkenberg recorded townscapes give him a worthy place in the rich tradition of Dutch architecture painting.