Verboeckhoven was an excellent painter of animals and, together with his pupils, appears to have been the last link to a secular tradition with its roots deep in the 17th century, which linked observation of nature, studied composition, and idealized reproduction of reality. Like the Old Masters, he obtained the colour blue for his skies by grinding down lapis lazuli. He was a prolific artist and very meticulous in his preparation: hundreds of sketches and studies were produced on the spot, assembling different elements like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Such was his dexterity that many artists called upon him to enrich their works with some of his animals and figures. Between 1841 and 1842, he visited Italy, Switzerland, and Scotland. His inspiration remained the same and his technique unaltered, but his notebooks were now filled with sketches of different landscapes.