A First Marriage
When Jakob returned home after his foreign adventures, he rejoined Eckhart's service. He also opened his own decoration studio, where he secured several important commissions. On July 9, 1882, Jakob married Anna Doetje Kramer. The couple moved to Amsterdam and had two daughters: Theodora and Annie.
To support his family, Jakob took a part-time teaching job in Haarlem, but he was unhappy in this role. The call of art grew louder and louder, and he found himself constantly away from his family, always searching for inspiration for his artwork and drawings. He often went on painting trips with Albert Neuhuys, which eventually brought him to Mol-Achterbos for the first time.
The demands of teaching and decoration assignments took a toll on him. His family was struggling financially, and tensions mounted. In the winter of 1885, the crisis reached its peak. Jakob, desperately unhappy, left his family and moved back to Brussels.
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Lack of understanding
By early 1886, Jakob was a wreck. A failure as a father and husband, stuck in an unfulfilling teaching job, and plagued by artistic restlessness.
Furthermore, he was completely destitute. He even had to leave his painting materials behind because he could not afford his room rent in Kinrooi, where he was temporarily staying. Jakob sent begging letters to Anna, but she refused to help him.
Mol-Achterbos
In the spring of 1888, Jakob returned to the Kempen region, which he had previously explored with Albert Neuhuys. He was drawn to the beautiful landscape and the people who lived there, so he decided to settle in Mol-Achterbos permanently. Jakob was not the first painter in the area; Charles Claessens from Antwerp had already been working there for some time as a landscape and interior painter.
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