Théo (Theodor) van Rysselberghe was born in Ghent, Belgium, on 23 November 1862. He attended the art academies of Ghent and Brussels. In the years 1881 and 1883 he traveled to Spain and Morocco. Together with other Belgian artists, including James Ensor, he founded the group "Les XX" in 1884, which was a major contribution to the popularity of Impressionism in Belgium. In 1886 Rysselberghe saw the painting "Un dimanche" or "La Grande Jatte" by Seurat. This triggered Rysselberghe's involvement with Pointillism. After 1890, he participated in a great many exhibitions. His pictures were also shown outside of Paris, in Germany, Austria and even Greece. Since about 1898 he lived and worked alternately in Paris and – in the summer – at Saint-Clair (Var) on the Mediterranean, where he met the Neo-Impressionists Signac and Cross. When his friend Cross died in 1910, Rysselberghe built a house for himself at Saint-Clair. He died there on 13 December 1926.