Struys' father (originally from Holland) was a master glass painter. At the age of six, he was already a student at the Academy of
Dordrecht. Later, Struys was a student of
Polydore Beaufaux and
Jozef Van Lerius at the
Royal Academy of Fine Arts. In 1871, he exhibited in
Ghent and travelled with
Jan Van Beers to France and England, where they attempted to sell their works, but barely made enough to get back home. His
anti-clerical painting, "Birds of Prey" (or "God is Dead", in Dutch), created a scandal in 1876. The year after, Struys was named a Professor at the
Weimar Saxon-Grand Ducal Art School, following in the steps of his fellow Belgians,
Charles Verlat (recently the school's Director) and
Ferdinand Pauwels. One of his best-known students there was
Christian Rohlfs. He remained in that position until 1882, when he moved to
The Hague and worked as a portrait painter for two years, after which he went back to Belgium. Working without a studio, Struys painted in the homes of the poor people he depicted. His work attracted much attention and praise in the more socially conscious publications of that time, and he became a close friend of
Jakob Smits, who was also involved in social issues. Some less sympathetic commentators referred to him as the "painter of misery and pain". Struys settled in Mechelen and became head of the Royal Drawing Academy there. In 1902, he joined the administrative commission for the ninth exhibition by the "
Société des Beaux-Arts à Bruxelles" and, three years later, became Vice-President of the "Société Royale des Beaux-Arts". That same year, he also served on the committee charged with preparing the "Exposition Rétrospective de l'Art Belge"; part of the country's 75th anniversary celebrations. He was also a member of the
Académie Royale de Belgique and the
Institut de France. ==References ==