He graduated from the École Polytechnique in 1806 and fought, as an infantry officer at the battles of Wagram, Gerona and Waterloo with a bravery that had him seriously injured and appointed colonel at the young age of twenty-six.

Studying with Girodet-Trioson, he specialized in landscapes, painting battles only, for he considered these to embody the most intense experiences life could offer.

He also used photography to document the Crimean War where he traveled with photographer Léon-Eugène Méhédin.

In 1873, Langlois' family bequeathed 256 paintings representing battles and military panoramas to the musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen.

[1] These paintings were transferred in 1888 to the Pavillon des sociétés savantes, an 18th-century building spruced up at his niece's expense to house the Langlois museum.