A Life Upon the Waves Born in Normandy, Auguste René Gillotin lived a life defined by the salt spray and the shifting horizons of the sea. Before he was ever known through his sketches, he was a man of the French Navy, shaped by the rigorous training of the naval school at Brest. His early years were marked by the movement of great ships across distant waters, beginning with a campaign to South America in 1833. This voyage brought him first to Gorée in Senegal, marking the start of a life spent witnessing the far reaches of the globe from the deck of a vessel. His career as an officer was one…