The luminist Henri Roidot was born in Anderlecht, Belgium. During his studies in Brussels he was introduced by Emile Claus as a member of 'Vie et Lumiere', a group of painters, including James Ensor and Maurice Sys, who sought to capture the effect of light in their paintings with lively touches and light colours. Roidot found inspiration for his fresh, optimistic canvases mainly in the Brabant countryside. He had a great preference for the use of the palette knife, with which he applied the paint to the canvas in short, rhythmic strokes.