Jean Baptiste Arthur Calame was born in 1843. He is the son of Alexandre Calame.

Between 1860 and 1864, Calame learned the art of painting. Afterwards, he attended the Royal Art Academy in Dusseldorf, and took courses from Oswald Achenbach until 1867.

He preferred to depict the Italian landscape in a kind of Achenbach manner. His works have been represented at numerous exhibitions in Switzerland, Berlin, Dresden, Vienna, Dijon and Munich.