Moreau was born in Paris, France, into an upper-middle-class family. His father, Louis Jean Marie Moreau, was an architect for the city of Paris and his mother, née Adèle Pauline Desmoutier, was a musician. Moreau lived a sheltered life growing up. Having visited Italy at age 15 he began his love for art. At age 18 he entered École des Beaux-Arts to study under the guidance of François-Édouard Picot and left in 1850. He then began to study art under his new mentor Théodore Chassériau, whose work, along with Eugène Delacroix, strongly influenced his own. Moreau participated in the Salon for the first time in 1852.