Abraham van der Wayen Pieterszen (1817-1880), A snowy landscape with figures chatting near a house and skaters on a frozen waterway, oil on canvas, 61x78 cm, signed and dated `A Pieterszen 1844` (lower left), The Zeeland artist Abraham van der Wayen Pieterszen was a protestant pastor in Belgium and one of the founders of the `Vlaamsche Opleidingsschool` in Laken. This school for protestant evangelists was founded in 1875 and in 1878 the preacher Theodorus van Gogh introduced his son Vincent in the school. As a Dutchman Vincent van Gogh was accepted for only three months in the Belgian school, but van der Wayen Pieterszen mediated that van Gogh could prolong his stay with six more months. This enabled van Gogh to preach and paint in the Borinage.