Ophuis' paintings can be related to the tradition of history painting in which he follows the Realisitic mode.
His large works from the last few years demonstrate how he has primarily looked to the nineteenth century for references; to the likes of Goya, Géricault, Delacroix, Courbet and Manet (a tradition continued in our century by Picasso, Golub and Richter, with Jeff Wall as the contemporary exponent).