Trained in the workshops of
Claudius Jacquand and
Jean-Léon Gérôme, he had his first exhibit at the
Salon in 1873. He received honorable mention there in 1879 and was awarded a third-class medal in 1880. He also collected medals at several international events, including the
Exposition Universelle of 1889. He was decorated with the
Legion of Honor in 1890. During his overseas trip in 1881, his experiences in the Middle East had a profound influence on his artistic inspiration.
Istanbul left an especially strong impression on him. His first
Orientalist painting "Turkish Woman in the Baths" was a great success and he became President of the Société des Artistes in
Tunis. He was also a professor at the
École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, and is believed to have been the inspiration for M. Biche, a fictional painter in
Remembrance of Things Past by
Marcel Proust. His son was the architect (1901–1980), who married Marie-Germaine Ablett, daughter of the painter
William Ablett, in 1931. ==Selected paintings==