Born in Antwerp, Henry Van de Velde was the sixth of eight children in a family whose father was a pharmacist. His father, Charles Van de Velde, a native of Brussels, organized meetings of composers from all over the world. Henry did his humanities in Antwerp; during the school year 1879-1879, he was a pupil of Max Elskamp, a future poet, with whom he remained friends.

Henry entered the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp in 1880 and remained there until 1882; he also became a student of the painter Charles Verlat in his private studio. In 1883, he was very impressed by an exhibition of impressionist painters held in Antwerp; he wanted to leave for Paris and finish his studies there. There he met the group formed around the Society of Independent Artists which had just been created by Paul Signac and Georges Seurat; there, Augustin Feyen-Perrin advised him to continue his studies with Carolus-Duran who accepted him as a student for the year 1884-1885. Henry began to paint, he was very influenced by the post-impressionists and the work of the pointillists.