Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp)
He grew up in a well-to-do family. His father was the Town Receiver and secretary of the Chamber of Commerce in Ostend and created a fund for the benefit of needy fishermen and their families. Little is known of this period in his life, but he apparently became a student of François-Antoine Bossuet at an early age. In the school-year 1837/38, he was enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp). He was also a private student in the studio of Nicaise de Keyser. It is believed that he was a student of Hendrik Leys, although Leys had no students, properly speaking.