René Gillotin

He was born in Normandy and entered the naval school at Brest, France.

He served in the Crimean War as a commander, and made many drawings and watercolor paintings throughout his naval career.

François Jacquin, a nephew of René Gillotin, came upon a trove of writings, drawings, sketches and watercolors by his uncle.

Based upon this discovery, he published De Constantinople a Tahiti: Seize ans d'aquarelles autour du monde, 1840-1856, en suivant Rene Gillotin in 1997.

[2] Although he is best known for his images of French Polynesia and Constantinople, he also drew and painted (presumably from life) in Africa, South America and Hawaii.

Landing in Byron [Hilo] Bay, Hawai’i Island , watercolor over graphite on paper by René Gillotin, c. 1844-48, Honolulu Museum of Art