Alfred Stevens, born in Brussels, was a student of François-Joseph Navez (1787-1869), Belgium's most important pupil of Jacques-Louis David; then in 1844 Stevens continued his studies under Camille Roqueplan (1803-1855) in Paris, whose looser, more casual technique pleased public taste.
After 1852, Stevens remained in Paris indefinitely; his earliest works show various influences, from Courbet, Couture, and Velázquez.