At the age of twelve, he was accepted by the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where he was trained by artists such as Jean-Léon Gérôme and Carolus-Duran.

He was also impressed with the Japanese pavilion at the Exposition Universelle (1878), all of which aroused in him a strong interest to move to Japan.

On the expiry of his government teaching job, he found employment as a French language teacher at a school run by the writer and liberal political philosopher Nakae Chōmin.

During the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), Bigot traveled to Korea on special assignment from the English magazine London Graphic.

However, with the revision of the unequal treaties and the end of extraterritoriality in Japan in 1899, Bigot decided to return to France.