The Marseille Origins and the Russian Call Marseilles, Provence, provides the starting point for Louis Caravaque. He is born into a family of painter-decorators, men who specialized in the practical, rugged task of painting ships from Gascony. The son follows this lineage, beginning his professional life at the Arsenal Galeries in Marseille. The trajectory shifts in 1715. In Paris, his portraits catch the eye of Peter Lefort. A contract is signed. The terms are specific: Caravaque will travel to Russia for three years to serve as a painter and to train Russian pupils. The transition from the…