Born in 1865, Gustive Loiseau had parents who were small butcher shop owners. They moved the family to Ile-Saint-Louis in Paris shortly after he was born. He became an apprentice to a decorator friend of the family. His parents, realizing that he was unlikely to change his mind about his future of wanting to become an artist, soon after sold their business and retired to Pontoise.

In 1884, after a year of military service spent in Paris, Loiseau returned to the apprenticeship with the decorator, but realized his true calling was to paint. In 1887 he established himself in Montmartre*, first in the Rue Myrrha and then at La Maison du Trappeur. He enrolled for one year in the Ecole des Arts-Décoratifs* in...