Although known today primarily for detailed interiors that feature views through windows (see image), de Braekeleer also painted wonderful landscape scenes in the environs of Antwerp.

The juxtaposition here of a muddy riverbank with the distant silhouette of Antwerp’s skyline of towers exemplifies his realism. Although derived from panoramic formats in Northern Baroque landscape paintings, the wide format of this small painting also must be indebted to the popularity of panoramic photographs in the nineteenth century.

De Braekeleer studied at the Antwerp Academy from the time he was fourteen. His uncle was the famous history painter Henri Leys, and de Braekeleer learned much from him. De Braekeleer won a gold medal at the Brussels Salon in 1872, and a medal of honor at the World’s Fair in Vienna in 1873.