Fishing by the mill

At the age of 24, Courtens started to travel around Belgium and its neighbouring countries in search of picturesque places. He first spent almost three years in Zeeland, The Netherlands, from 1878 to 1881; then was newly attracted to the vicinities of Brussels, the Brabant landscape and the ideas on realism by Hippolyte Boulenger. After his marriage, he frequently travelled to Paris where he was inspired by the impressionist works of leading artists of the day and he undertook a pilgrimage to Barbizon. He was the leader of what would later be known as the "School of Termonde" (Dendermonde, the little Flemish city where he was born) and often returned to the Netherlands where he often stayed at the "Vogelenzang" estate to the south of Haarlem.