Biography

French painter. Little is known about his artistic training, Alongside vedutas of his homeland of France, he also painted Swiss and Italian landscapes after his visits. He was especially famed for his watercolours, which were often used as designs for prints and book illustrations.

He produced Swiss views, sea-pieces, and pastoral scenes in the style of Claude-Joseph Vernet. Although many watercolours and gouaches by Châtelet are still in existence, his paintings are rare. Examples of his work are in the Orléans Museum, the Palace at Fontainebleau, and the Cottier Collection.

He embraced with ardour the cause of the Revolution, allied himself with Robespierre and the leaders of the Jacobins, and became a member of the Revolutionary Tribunal. He was arrested some months after the 9th Thermidor, tried, condemned, and executed in Paris, May 7, 1795.