Originally, he wanted to be a sailor, but his father insisted that he study painting; a turnabout from the usual situation where the family opposes an artistic career in favor of something more practical.

In 1831, he was chosen to accompany a diplomatic mission to Morocco, led by the Comte de Mornay, but he politely refused.

He had just returned from a short trip to Algiers, where he had painted scenes of the Royal Navy's campaign, and was concerned that the situation there was still too unsettled to make a lengthy stay.

He favored historical paintings, genre scenes and landscapes, but also executed numerous canvases depicting storms and shipwrecks, possibly reflecting his own thwarted career plans.

In his later years, he turned from marine painting to historical scenes, usually of a violent nature, such as massacres, duels and robberies.