High Alps
He followed his artistic studies at the Academy of Brussels (1839–1842), notably under the famous "vedutiste", François Bossuet (1789–1889) who was responsible for teaching him perspective and who was the authority on landscapes and city views. Then he attended the Brussels studio of Pierre-Louis Kühnen (1812–1877), a painter originating from Aix-la-Chapelle, specialised in painting romantic landscapes. Roffiaen received for that reason an annual subsidy of 600 francs, paid by the city of Ypres (1841–1845 or 1846). At the same time, he taught drawing at the college of Dinant. To thank the city of his birth for the support they had given him, he gave a "Landscape with Hydraulic Mill" (1844), a "Waterfall of the Aar in the High Alps and" a "View from Grütli on Lake Geneva" (1857) to the local museum. He also bequeathed a lot later a large "Valley of Chamonix" to the commune of Ixelles, of which he was on the board of directors since the time of its creation in 1892.