“ He then travelled through Italy, Greece, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, the Lebanon, Judaea, Spain, Hungary and Norway. On his return to Belgium in 1847 Portaels succeeded H. Vanderhaert as director of the academy at Ghent. In 1849 he married the daughter of his first master, Navez, and in 1850 settled at Brussels; but as he failed in obtaining the post of director of the academy there, and wished, nevertheless, to carry on the educational work begun by his father-in-law, he opened a private studio-school, which became of great importance in the development of Belgian art. ”