Ensor attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels from 1877 to 1880. However, his teachers Joseph Stallaert, Alexandre Robert, Jef van Severdonck and the director Jean Portaels were unable to captivate him. After three years he returned to Ostend. Later, during the winter months, he sometimes moved into a room in Brussels. In the winter of 1887-1888, he lived at No. 123 Anspachlaan. From his studio he looked directly into the Rue du Bon Secours, which connects the Avenue Anspach to the rue du Marché au Charbon. He made a mirror image of the view of the Avenue Anspach in 1887. He also made a drypoint of the building on the right, which occupies about half of the Rue du Bon Secours, in a mirror image (inv. 1998-B-20).
