Joseph van Luppen belongs to the realistic school of Belgian landscape painting. Important for his development were the landscape painting lessons at the Antwerp academy, and especially the teaching of Frans Lamorinière, who had been to Barbizon. Van Luppen paints his landscapes with almost topographical accuracy; by adding – now and then – romantic country folk, they sometimes exude a melancholic, romantic atmosphere. Mountain landscapes were the painter's favourite. Before that, he regularly visited the Ardennes, but he also traveled to the mountainous regions of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. From 1880, Van Luppen led the landscape painting class at the Antwerp Academy.