When he was twelve his hometown provided financial support which allowed him to study at the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts.

[2] He painted two altarpieces for the local church Saint Nicolas, to express his gratitude to his city.

His renown extended across the borders as Karel Ooms won awards for his oeuvre in Prague (1877), Amsterdam (1883), Adelaide (1887), Melbourne (1888), and Chicago (1893).

[6] Late in life, in 1897, he married Baroness Edith van Eersel, widow of Baron Emile della Faille, a member of a prominent Belgian aristocratic family.

Soon after their marriage, the couple went to live in Edith's villa in Cannes so that Ooms, who suffered from a heart condition, could spend the winter months in a milder climate.

The colours on the palette show his preference for earthy pigments, which was typical for artists like him who worked in the academic tradition.

[9] His career received a boost from the success of his 1876 history/genre painting entitled The prohibited reading (Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium).

The scene is likely set in the 16th or 17th century when Protestants were prosecuted, amongst others, for reading the bible in the vernacular, a practice prohibited by the Catholic Church at the time.

[8] Inspired by his travels in the Middle East, Karel Ooms painted many Orientalist compositions.

They are in elegant dress and royal poses and bring to mind similar portraits of the Russian Czar Romanov family.