The Life and Artistic Training of Auguste-Joseph De Mersseman Born in Bruges, Belgium, Auguste-Joseph De Mersseman was the son of Jacques Pierre Marie De Mersseman, a pharmacist, and Anne Jacqueline De Busscher. He was the brother of Jacques De Mersseman, a physician and historian. His formal artistic education began at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bruges, followed by studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels starting in 1833. During his development, he was a student in the studio of Joseph Laurent Dyckmans. After establishing himself in Antwerp in 1840, he became a frequent partic…