His youth was spent with his family and was influenced by the Franco-Prussian War. He showed an early talent for drawing and his first tutors gained him a scholarship to the École des Beaux-Arts in 1885, where he studied under Jean-Léon Gérôme and François Flameng. He was mainly inspired by historical subjects, especially the Napoleonic era, though he also produced portraits, landscapes, townscapes, and sketches, often adding drawings to his letters.
From 1887 to 1914, he took part in the Salon des Artistes Français, and won many medals and travel bursaries. Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Africa, and Egypt became major influences on him. He worked in oils, watercolour, gouache, pastel, and charcoal. He died of typhoid fever in 1916.
