François Marliave (de)

François Marie Léon de Marliave (10 Oct. 1874, Toulon, France ‑1953, Draguignan, France) was, like Loti, a French navy officer (captain of 2d class aviso​“Brandon”) and an artist:​‘peintre-voyageur’ (traveling visual artist) and illustrator.

His career as an established artist spanned from 1904 to his death in 1953. His first destination was French Indochina, visiting Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in 1911 and 1920, in order to create preparatory visuals for the Colonial Exhibitions. The material for Loti’s book was created during his stay in Angkor in November 1920.

He painted and sketched landscapes and people in India (1930), the Middle East (1933−4), and Algeria (1942−5). After Second World War, he drew inspiration from the landscapes of Provence, as he had a residence in Aix-en-Provence since 1917. Some of his works are kept at Musée d’Orsay, section des arts décoratifs, Paris.