Antonie de Jong was born in The Hague in 1860. In the 1970s he must have made friends there with Herman van der Weele, who had moved from Middelburg to the court city in 1873. Van der Weele regularly traveled to Nunspeet and Elspeet in the Veluwe to gain inspiration for his landscapes. Antonie de Jong probably accompanied him every now and then on his sketching trips.