According to the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie (RKD) he was the son of a surgeon and the nephew of the painter Dirk Rafaelsz Camphuysen.Rafaël Govertsz. Camphuysen in the RKD He was a pupil of Jacob Gerritsz Cuyp and Dirck Govertsz and the older brother of Joachim Govertsz Camphuysen who studied with him. His sister Lysbeth married his pupil, the artist Aert van der Neer.
