The ideas was that the education would enable local artisans and artists (in that order) to compete with their compatriots from other part of the Netherlands.

Du Bois also contributed to culture in 's-Hertogenbosch by being on the board of the Provincial Society for Arts and Sciences in North-Brabant (Provinciaal Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen in Noord-Brabant),[10] founded in 1837.

Du Bois became famous as an artist by painting some works that very much appealed to the nationalist feelings during the Belgian Revolution.

In order to prepare for the painting, Du Bois visited a gunboat of the type that Van Speyk commanded at nearby Fort Crèvecoeur.

[12] In 1978 Du Bois' Van Speyk took center stage at an exposition in the Rijksmuseum about nationalist art.

A review of the exposition noted that the esthetic value of the exhibited works was minimal, but that these could also be seen as a form of politically engaged art.

However, the remark seems less outlandish when one compares Dubois' later paintings to his earlier picture which depicts the board of the school.