A pupil of Léon Cogniet (1794-1880) and Charles Emile Jacque (1813-1894), De Penne started his career as a genre painter. He achieved considerable success with this early work, exhibiting a painting inspired by the work of Victor Hugo in 1855, which aroused favourable comment, and then in 1857 he won second prize in the Prix de Rome.

However, he did not long continue to paint in this genre, and soon turned to painting landscapes and animals, particularly dogs. His paintings are renowned for a marvellous understanding of the animals’ characters and display his evident love of his subject.

He exhibited his work at the Paris Salon for many years, obtaining a third-class medal in 1872, a second-class medal in 1883 and a silver medal at the Exposition Universelle in 1889.

His works can be found in museums in: Chantilly, La Rochelle, Liege and Montreal.