James Bertrand was born in Lyons, France in 1825. He received his artistic education from a teacher of the old school Alphonse Perin, and Bertrand remained under his tutelage for ten years. Upon the conclusion of his apprenticeship, he headed for Rome. There he explored the artwork of the Old Masters, and he also sent his own work to the annual Paris Salon. Bertrand returned to France in 1862 and remained in Paris.

Bertrand became well-known for a collection of paintings he began in 1867 dedicated to the melancholy of the heroines of romance and poetry. Bertrand was appointed to the Legion of Honor in 1876.