At sixteen, Charles Camoin enrolled in the École des Beaux-Arts in Marseilles while also studying business. His talent was recognized when he won a prize for one of his drawings, prompting his mother to encourage him to move to Paris and join Gustave Moreau's studio. In 1898, Camoin joined this studio, where he met Manguin, Marquet, Matisse, Puy, and Rouault—artists who would later form the core of the Fauvist movement. After Moreau's death that same year, Camoin frequently painted in the streets of Paris with Marquet. In 1900, Camoin was called to military service and relocated to Arles, where he painted well-known sites previously depicted by Van Gogh and Gauguin. The following year, he was stationed in Aix-en-Provence, where he became friends with Cézanne, who influenced his approach to color. Starting in 1903-1904, Camoin participated in the Salon des Indépendants and the Salon d'Automne. In 1904, he met Monet in Giverny and held his first solo exhibition at Galerie Berthe Weill. In 1905, he exhibited several works in the renowned cage aux fauves at the Salon d'Automne, although critics noted his more restrained use of color compared to his Fauvist peers, reflecting his intuitive and less systematic approach to the movement's principles. His acclaimed "Portrait of Albert Marquet" (1904-1905) dates from this period. As Fauvism began to decline and new art movements like Cubism emerged, Camoin experienced a severe artistic crisis, leading him to destroy over eighty paintings from his "black period" in 1913. That same year, a trip to Morocco with Matisse rejuvenated his passion for painting and brightened his palette. After World War I, Camoin visited Auguste Renoir's workshop in Cagnes-Sur-Mer, which influenced him to adopt a more colorful and sensuous style. In 1920, Camoin married Charlotte Prost (Lola), and they lived in Paris and Saint-Tropez, where he continued to paint landscapes, figures, and still lifes. Camoin passed away in Paris on May 20, 1965.