The strongly Orange-minded Frederik Lambertus Geerling made a career in the Dutch navy. From 1874 to 1877 he was commander of the navy and chief of the Navy Department in the Dutch East Indies, and was appointed vice admiral in 1875. From 1883 to 1893 he was Secretary of the Navy. Geerling had a talent for drawing and probably practiced painting as a hobby. After his retirement in 1877 he must have taken drawing and painting more seriously.