Originally from Saint-Herblain, near Nantes, Jean Bouchaud is most often defined as 'traveling painter' thanks to its numerous overseas stays. In North Africa, first of all, where he discovered the light of Tunisia in 1919 then stayed in Morocco and Algeria as a resident of the City of Abd-el-Tif. In 1924, holder of a scholarship from the Hanoi government, he went to Indochina and traveled through Cambodia, Laos, and the territories of present-day Vietnam to China. The painter then focuses more on representing scenes of everyday life, on the banks of rivers and minority ethnic groups, than famous sites and monuments. Winner of the French West Africa Prize in 1932, he is an attentive observer of the populations encountered in Senegal, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea. His various travels fueled his inspiration until the end of his life