Despite the success of a first exhibition in 1901 in Aalst, de Saedeleer struggled to live solely from his art and was forced to raise poultry for a living. The next year he visited the Exposition des primitifs flamands à Bruges, which left a lasting impression and influence on his work. In 1903, he exhibited his landscapes at the Salon in Paris, where he was influenced by the works of Émile-René Ménard. The same year he converted to Christianity. From 1904-1905 onwards, de Saedeleer found his own style. His work started to show a synthetic, purified vision. His landscapes no longer referenced time or space. He represented the still nature in a composed landscape which was almost always limited by a low horizon. The surface of his canvases was smoothed and he used a soft harmony of colours. The landscapes of this time have a sublime, almost unreal sense of space. In these works the artist was clearly engaged in a symbolistic search for the soul of the landscape, likely under the influence of his conversion to Christianity. He often painted winter landscapes.