A Life Shaped by Tradition Joseph Jean François Stallaert was born in 1825 in Merchtem, a small town within the Flemish-speaking part of Brabant. His early years were far removed from the world of oil and canvas; his father was a merchant, and Joseph himself began his working life at fifteen as an apprentice in a trading firm. He earned one hundred francs a month, a steady living that seemed to point toward a future in commerce. Howeve…