Joseph Stallaert

Joseph Stallaert (19 March 1825 – 24 November 1903) was a Belgian painter and art educator. He is known for his scenes from antiquity executed in a Classicistic and Academic style going back on the French models of Louis David.

Life Joseph Jean François Stallaert was born on 19 March 1825 in Merchtem, a small town in the Flemish-speaking part of Brabant. Although a merchant, his father was very interested in literature and drama. With the encouragement of his father his favorite reading at age 12 were Dutch-language translations of Virgil and the Bible. His paternal grandfather was a Flemish poet and his brother, Charles Stallaert, became a Flemish-language writer. His family moved in 1838 to Brussels where his parents were merchants. They originally destined Joseph for a career in business and at the age of 15, he joined a trading firm, where he earned 100 francs a month.

After his father's death, Joseph openly declared his intention to become a painter. In 1839, he enrolled at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels and, in 1841, he formally became a student of Navez with whom he studied about 4 to 5 years.