Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp)
His father was sexton at Der Aa-kerk. He showed an early aptitude for art and, against the wishes of his parents, enrolled at the Academie Minerva in 1860, where he studied with J.H. Egenberger.After graduating, he spent another year at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp). Later, he took private lessons in the studios of Lawrence Alma-Tadema.