Johannes ('John') Frederik Hulk Jr. was born in 1855 as the son of the shopkeeper and painter Johannes Frederik Hulk Sr. He followed in his father's footsteps after initially wanting to become a sailor. In addition to lessons from his father, he trained at the Rijksacademie in Amsterdam under August Allebé and then at the well-known Académie Julian in Paris. He probably owes his nickname 'John' to the time he spent in England for about twelve years. There he made paintings with fox hunts and dogs on behalf of landowners and signed them with John F. Hulk. In addition to his work as an artist, Hulk had numerous social functions. He was a board member of Arti et Amicitiae, curator of the Teylers Museum in Haarlem and a member of the Royal Subsidy Committee, from which he had previously also received a subsidy as a 'pensionnaire'.