Florent Willems, considered a portrait and genre painter, was born in Liege, Belgium on January 8, 1823. As a young man he received his first instruction in painting while attending lectures at the Malines Academy. At seventeen Willems had his first successful exhibition. He worked as a restorer in a gallery in Brussels to raise the necessary funds to further his training.

Willems was a student at the Academy of Mechlen, in central Belgium. In 1844, he went to Paris to advance his career and establish himself as a painter. Just prior to his move he became very interested in Dutch 17th Century Masters, studying the academic techniques of Terburg, Metsu, and Mines and especially his friend and fellow artist Alfred Stevens. Together the...