Léon Victor FONTAN, also known as Léo FONTAN, born September 23, 1884 in Donchery (Ardennes), died June 26, 1965 in Annecy, is a French painter, illustrator and decorator. Léo FONTAN grew up in Touraine where his father was assigned, he then lived with his parents at 10 rue du Rocher in Tours. He took courses at the École supérieure des beaux-arts de Tours from 1900 to 1903, in the studio of Félix LAURENT and COURAULT, then was admitted to the École des beaux-arts de Paris in April 1903 in the workshops of Fernand CORMON in 1913, Léon BONNAT, Luc-Olivier MERSON in 1906 and 1907. He was selected among the last ten candidates for the Grand Prix de Rome in 1909, but did not obtain any points. Pierre LAFITTE hired him to illustrate the front cover of the little books in the Arsène Lupine series. Then he joined the Bookstore of the Print of Antonin RESCHAL where he replaced Raphael KIRCHNER. He is noticed by Francis CARCO. Léo FONTAN contributes to numerous newspapers such as La Vie parisienne, Le Sourire, Fantasio, and designs some posters and sets for the Folies Bergère. He creates furniture, performs gilding, and takes part in the Decorative Arts Exhibition of 1925 and in the decoration of liners of the Messageries maritimes including the Aramis in 1931 in the company of Mathurin MEHEUT and Yvonne JEAN-HAFFEN. During World War II, he devoted himself to portraits, still lifes and landscapes, dividing his time between Paris, Touraine and the Côte d'Azur. Officer of the Legion of Honor, he received a few official orders for the current National Institute of Industrial Property, the petty officers' mess in Paris and the city of Paris. He was a member of the Society of French Artists from 1911 to 1946. He painted until his last day despite failing eyesight. He died getting off the train in Annecy on June 26, 1965.