Afterward, he was partly raised by his uncle, the mayor of Wechelderzande,[1] a small village near Antwerp, where he first learned to appreciate nature.

Many other painters came to the Kempen area seeking inspiration; often living in tent camps and waiting for the desired lighting effects.

Together with Isidore Meyers [nl], Théodore Baron, Jacques Rosseels (1828–1912) and Florent Crabeels, he helped found what was known as the "Kalmthoutse School [nl]" of painting, also known as the "Grey School" because of their preference for grey and silvery shades.

In 1869, he married and settled in Brussels, where he was a c0-founder of the Société Libre des Beaux-Arts and several artists' associations.

Sometime in the 1890s, he returned to Kalmthout and his style slowly evolved into a form of realism with occasional touches of pointillism to accentuate the colors.