He was adopted by a French couple, Pierre Emmanuel and Rose Zamor, and was taken to France in 1845.

He later attended the Académie Julian, where he received his first exposure to contemporary trends in art.

[2] When his adoptive father died in 1862, he returned to France for the funeral and remained there the rest of his life.

He and his wife, however, were reported to be living in such poverty that he had to burn his paintings and canvases as firewood during the winter;[citation needed] a story which, if true, would help to account for the small number of his known works.

His first true recognition came in 1984, when a Brazilian art dealer "discovered" his works on auction at Christie's in Paris and bought all 37 paintings being offered.