Van Rysselberghe was at the heart of the Brussels art world during the brief period in the late nineteenth century when the Belgian capital was a leading centre for the display of international avant-garde art. He was a founding member of 'Les Vingt', the influential exhibition society, and travelled widely to see exhibitions and meet artists. His early paintings were influenced by the French Impressionists and Whistler. In Paris in 1886, however, he saw the Post-Impressionist artist Georges Seurat's monumental 'Sunday Afternoon on the Ile de la Grande Jatte' (Art Institute of Chicago) and recognised the significance of the pointillist style. Van Rysselberghe adopted the style himself, becoming the leader of the Belgian pointillists, until he gave it up in 1904.