 Some stylistic similarities with Frans Floris' works that appear in van Cleve's early work and the engravings after his inventions make the apprenticeship plausible.Van Mander also stated that van Cleve did not follow the 16th century trend of Flemish painters to study in Italy.This may explain why van Cleve's work does not show the influence of Italian Mannerism with its unrealistic deformations.