An artist who developed close professional ties with the French Navy, Charles Fouqueray occupies an important and unique niche in the annuals of French art. While public tastes and the Salons were riding the innovation and birth of Impressionism, Fouqueray dove wholeheartedly into a well-defined, tight realism for his romantic portrayals of the importance of France's maritime history. Most often, whether naval, merchant or recreational sailors, his work emphasizes the efforts of the humans involved, with segments of ships as his background settings. This made him a popular illustrator for publications and books, including some of Rudyard Kipling's writings.

Born in Le Mans, Dominique Charles Fouqueray was exhibiting in the Salons before his 21st birthday. He studied under portraitist Alexander Cabenel and historical painter Fernand Cormon. Their influence is heavy in his compositions, but events of the First World War influenced Fouqueray's direction even more. He became an official painter to the Navy and sailed on several tours to the French Colonies in Africa, Asia and the Australian continents. His is one of very few contemporary viewpoints of this important age of European Imperialism. He also won several awards in his career and was made Officier de la Légion d'Honneur in 1909.

A work considered to be Fouqueray's most important painting of World War I may be found hanging in the Museum of Great War in Versailles.

Charles Fouqueray was born in 1872 and died in 1956. Fouqueray was trained by Alexandre Cabanel and history painter Fernand Cormon, and became an official painter to the French navy and toured the colonies of Africa, Asia and Australia.

Charles painted a limited number of works during his stay in the Orient, but his unique palette, both impressionistic and original, earned him an important place in the annals of French art. He received numerous awards during his career, the most notable being his appointment to the rank of Officier de la Légion d'Honneur in 1909, as well as the Prix Rosa Bonheur (also in 1909) and a gold medal for engraving in 1920.

Several of Charles' major works are held in French museums, such as L'Affaire des Brûlots, now in the Musée de l'Île d'Aix, Pélerins à Djeddah, now in the Musée du Quai Branly, and his depiction of the naval battle entitled Palermo in the collection of the Musée d'Orsay in Paris.