Galerie Paul Prouté

Born in Givet in 1730, Joseph de Longueil showed a strong aptitude for drawing from an early age. He first studied in Liège before moving to Paris at the age of eighteen. There, he studied under Jacques-Philippe Le Bas, who was then running a highly influential workshop. He subsequently worked under Jacques Aliamet, Engraver to the King, and later followed the instruction of Jean-Georges Wille. Having completed his training, he left France to embark on a journey across Europe, traveling through Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands.

This extended journey meant that he did not sign his first engraving until 1761. These early works established his reputation. In 1762, at the invitation of his former teacher Wille, he worked on two engravings after marine paintings. In 1766, he was summoned to the Imperial and Royal Academy in Vienna along with several other French artists, including Charles-Nicolas Cochin and Jean-Jacques Flipart. Back in Paris, numerous artists, including Moreau le Jeune, Jean-Jacques Le Barbier, and François-Marie-Isidore Quéverdo, commissioned him to reproduce their works.