Jean Salabet was born in 1913 in a small town in the Pyranees near the Spanish border. By the age of 15, Salabet was drawing and painting the mountains and sea. He was self taught, visiting museums as often as possible. He traveled throughout Spain, then made his way through France, traveling as far as Bruges.  By the 1940s he was painting in Paris and was closely associated with other artists of the Paris School: Antoine Blanchard, Edouard Cortes, and Jules Herve.  Salabet was known for his Parisian street scenes of Montmartre, Le Champs-Elysees, La Madeline, as well as the flower markets.