Arthur Navez belonged to the Brabant Fauvists, a group of painters who paved the way for artistic innovation and experimentation in Belgium. He studied briefly at the academies of Antwerp and Brussels and continued his studies in Paris in 1900. There he was taught by the somewhat traditional painter Jean-Léon Gérôme, but he also discovered Impressionism and was particularly influenced by the work of Edgar Degas and Edouard Manet.

When he returns to Brussels at the end of 1907, he joins the Fauvist movement in Brabant. Through contact with the work of Matisse, Derain and De Vlaminck, he evolves in his landscapes, scenes from the mundane world and still lifes towards a spontaneous style with often an almost wild use of colours. In 1908 he exhibits with the group Le Sillon, to which he also belonged for a short time. In the 1920s, the Brabant painters each went their own way. Navez opts for a more sober, subdued style and his palette becomes less fierce and intense.