Louis Moreau was a French wood-engraver

Wood engraving

Wood engraving is a technique in printmaking where the "matrix" worked by the artist is a block of wood. It is a variety of woodcut and so a relief printing technique, where ink is applied to the face of the block and printed by using relatively low pressure. A normal engraving, like an etching,...

, anarchist and militant pacifist.

Trained as a lithographer, in 1900 he settled in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 to practice his trade. There he developed a passion for drawing, painting and engraving. Additionally, he began contributing to Jean Grave's

Jean Grave

Jean Grave was an important activist in the French anarchist movement. He was involved with Élisée Reclus' Révolté...

 Temps Nouveaux. Mobilized during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, he nevertheless contributed to Pierre Chardon's clandestine newspaper Semeur in 1916.

Between the two disastrous World Wars his "Femme libérée" illustrated l'Idée Libre and he contributed wood engravings to Émile Armand's

Emile Armand

Emile Armand was the most influential French individualist anarchist at the beginning of the 20th century and also a dedicated free love/polyamory, intentional community, and pacifist/antimilitarist writer, propagandist and activist...

 Néo-Naturien and L'EnDehors.

With Germain Delatouche, a fellow engraver and libertarian, Moreau formed the group Les Partisans in 1924.

Portraits of famous anarchists, antimilitarist illustrations, naturist landscapes and various wood engravings by Moreau decorate many libertarian books and journals including Les Humbles, La Revue Anarchiste, l'Almanach de la paix (1934), L'Unique (until 1956) and numerous titles from Joseph Ishill's Oriole Press.

Although an artist of immense talent, Moreau rejected stardom and mocked official recognition. Manuel Devaldès, a friend and fellow artist, wrote his biography in 1935.