Paul Guigou was born in the Vaucluse, where his family were beekeepers and small-property owners. In 1850, his family settled in Marseilles where he studied four years later with <a href=" https://findartvalue.com/artist/emile-loubon">Émile Loubon</a> (1809-1863), the director of the local École des Beaux-Arts. Guigou painted primarily Provençal landscapes en plein air, in line with his teacher Lo