In 1845 Roffiaen saw two paintings by Calame at the Salon de Bruxelles. He was so impressed by them that the young Belgian was awarded a place to train in his new mentor’s Geneva studio for six months including studying in Calame’s summer school in Meiringen. His style and subject matter remained close to Calame throughout his life and yet he seemed to specialize in painting Swiss lakes to a greater extent than many of his contemporaries. Roffiaen’s work was admired and collected by the royal families of Europe.