Louis-Jean-Noël Duveau (1818-1867) was born in Saint-Malo, Brittany, north-west France. He studied in the studio of history painter Léon Cogniet at the Ecole de Beaux-Arts in Paris, and made his debut at the Paris Salon in 1864 with A Mass at Sea (Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rennes). He worked as a history painter and illustrator, with many of his works inspired by the scenery and people of Brittany.