 In 1516, he became an apprentice to the Leiden painter Cornelis Engebrechtsz.Some sources incorrectly name Aertgen van Leyden as a brother of Lucas van Leyden; in fact, Lucas van Leyden was the son of a painter, Hugo Jacobsz.Van Leydens early work was influenced by the style of his mentor, Engebrechtsz., while his later works shows influences by Jan van Scorel and Maarten van Heemskerck, among others.