Houbén, Henri

Born in Antwerp in 1858, Henri Houbén was the son of a violin master at the Antwerp School of Music. In 1877, Houbén enrolled at the Antwerp Academy and became a student of the painter Karel Verlat. Houbén spent some time in Holland, but eventually returned and settled in Belgium where he enjoyed a successful career as a painter of landscapes, portraits, and figures. In 1885, he was appointed painting master at the Antwerp Academy, a position which he held until his death in 1931.