Basile Lemeunier was born in the small Normandy village of Antoigny, 40 km to the north east of Mayenne. As a young man he started by painting the walls of his parent’s house before supposedly moving on to paint ‘all the walls of the village’. He was soon taking commissions for portraits from clients in Mayenne. His talents were recognised by the local authorities who awarded him a two-year scholarlship to pursue his studies in Paris. He entered the studio of Edouard Detaille while also attending classes given by the painter Amédée Hédin.

By 1888 he was sending work to the Paris Salon and this he continued to do until the year before his death. His works received awards in 1891 and 1907, as also at the Expositions Universelles of 1889 and 1900. He became a close friend of Detaille and also worked as an assistant on that artist’s major project for the decoration of the Pantheon in Paris, squaring designs for transfer and collaborating on the execution of the decorative friezes. In his own work besides portraits, Lemeunier mostly painted scenes from contemporary life, including genre scenes and Paris street scenes.