Early Life and Artistic Training Joseph Aubert was born in Nantes, France, on 20 August 1849. His early years in this port city preceded a move toward the formal structures of the French art world. In 1872, he married the daughter of the mathematician Jean Claude Bouquet, a connection that occurred just before his formal entry into the Parisian academic system. The year 1873 marked a shift in his professional path when he was admitte…