At the age of 8, he studied under a reputed master of art in Clermont, Pierre-Marie Gault de Saint-Germain; at 12, he was capable of meticulously-made, life-like portraits and at 16, he joined the school of Jacques-Louis David.

Sometime before the July Revolution of 1830, he began La mort de Bonchamps, by personal choice rather than for a commission; it was mentioned in a letter of 1828.

It was only in 1837 that he could present the piece for exhibition at the Louvre, where the count of Montalivet, Minister of the Interior in the government of "citizen-king" Louis Philippe I refused to submit it to the jury for fear of exciting political passions.

Around this time, Degeorge left Paris to return to Clermont-Ferrand; while there, he created several portraits of local figures, such as François Dominique de Reynaud, Comte de Montlosier; Clermont mayor Antoine Blatin; Jean Grenier [fr], first president of the Riom appellate court; and general Nicolas Léonard Beker.

[6] He married Antoinette Jeanne Delmas de Grammont who, after his death, passed the contents of his atelier to the city, making up around 60 paintings and 2 sketchbooks, which are kept now at the museum.