Childhood
Louis-Joseph Soulas was born in Orléans, at 74 rue Saint-Marceau, on September 1st, 1905.
His grandfather Silas was a beekeeper with 400 hives. He lived in Beauce, in the townland of Lignerolles near Patay, where his family had lived for many generations. Silas' son, Samuel, inherited the family beekeeping business along with a 62 acre farm, which he managed in an unusual but interesting way, cultivating vines and asparagus.
In 1904 Samuel married Jeanne Cassegrain, and a year later their son, Louis Joseph was born.
Samuel himself had an amateur interest in art, but had not been allowed by his father Silas to further develop his interest.
Samuel encouraged from an early age the aptitude and talent for art shown by Louis Joseph, who showed no interest in becoming a farmer. Indeed, in 1917, at the tender age of 12, Louis-Joseph was enrolled in "Manufacture des Gobelins" in Paris to study drawing.