Early Life, Family and Training Alphonse Colas was born on September 25, 1818, in Lille, France, into a family of significant size. He was the fifth of seven children born to Jean-Joseph Colas and Adélaïde Thérèse née Leprêts. His father served as a tax official in Verlinghem, providing a structured household for the growing family. This upbringing in the northern French region provided the foundation for a life dedicated to the visual arts. His formal education in painting began in 1834 when he enrolled at the École des beaux-arts de Lille. It was here that his early inclinations toward th…