Frederic de Fonteneyee was born in Paris in 1957. A self taught painter, de Fonteneyee began to express his passion for painting at fifteen years of age .

In order to develop himself, de Fonteneyee began to diligently copy the works of the great old masters. He began by completing, with amazing fidelity, a reproduction of the gold helmet of Rembrandt. He then began to improve his technique and his knowledge of colors to the equal of a lithographic draftsman. After these studies, de Fonteneye went on to designed sketches for Dali, Vasarely, Peynet, and Brasilierfor the next five years.

De Fonteneyee uses an oil paint whose pigments are resistant, artful, and very variegated. It is a high scale painting to obtain luminescent colors and a rich effect in his compositions. Even on the large canvasses, he uses very fine paint brushes for a truly precise detail, especially for people in the foreground. For the artist, it is most essential to make light jet forth from his works. Therefore, whatever may be the chosen subject, he works the contrasts of shadows and lights "so that the landscape moves so that it has relief."

The depth of the shadows always involves a reflection of light through colors chosen in setting the theme (façades of shadowed houses, olive trees at midday sun, persons seated in the evening light, a game of contrasts on the high rocks in a seascape) and others. De Fonteneye completes his work without emphasis on the background. A single coat immediately represents the finished painting. In the beginning, he commences on the left side, and he finishes the picture toward the right, without superpositioning the painting.The theme can be vast as long as light is present. It is a figurative painting which discloses straightforward the ambiance of villages and the countryside of Provence and the Mediterranean.

In 1989, De Fonteneye prepared his first exhibition at Lavoir de Mougins and held an exhibition at the Majestic later that same year. In 1991 he moved his workshop to Mougins Village, and it was there that he began to paint Provence and its people.