Famous photographer, he co-founded in 1969 "les Rencontres photographiques d'Arles", with Michel Tournier, historian Jean-Maurice Rouquette and Agnès de Gouvion Saint-Cyr. He was friend with Pablo Picasso, Saint-John Perse and he helped start the American career of his friend Manitas De Plata.
He instigated the photographic collection at the Réattu museum in Arles. In 2007, he was the first photographer elected to the French Académie des Beaux-arts.
Decorated as Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite, Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur, Commandeur des Arts et Lettres.
In his childhood, he learned to play violin.
In 1979, he became Doctor in Photography at University of Provence, Marseille (France), and was the first person to present a thesis only in images (entitled "Langage des Sables").
The co-founder of the Rencontres de la photographie d'Arles, Jean-Maurice Rouquette, also friend of Picasso, died on 22 Janauary 2019 in Arles where he was born in 1931. He was director of the Arles museums (1956-1995).