The painter, draftsman and watercolorist Leo Bervoets was educated at the Antwerp Academy. Even before the first World War, he immersed himself in the colorful world of dance halls and fairs and of the many circuses that hit the city. He was at home in the harbor quarter and loved the unregulated life of the pubs and parties. He portrayed this lively world in his own style with cubist and expressionist elements. Harbor views, café interiors, bar girls and vagrants are his oeuvre. He also painted landscapes and studio interiors. In the true sense of the word, he composes his paintings, which consist of small, delicate surfaces that are brought to unity in a subdued color harmony.