Narcisse Berchère

His initial studies were at the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris, with Charles-Caïus Renoux.

He spent much of his working life in Paris; making extended trips to Provence and Spain, and specializing in landscapes.

In 1856, he returned to Egypt and crossed the Sinai desert with his friend, the painter Léon Belly.

They were then joined by Jean-Léon Gérôme and Auguste Bartholdi; setting out on an expedition up the Nile Valley that October.

Four years later, Ferdinand de Lesseps entrusted him to create a series of paintings, tracing the different stages in the excavation of the Suez Canal.