Michel Jean Bertrand was born in Paris in 1940. He makes all his secondary studies at the college Charlemagne and he follows courses of drawing, of history of art as well as history and geography at the university of Paris " La Sorbonne ". He obtains a doctorate of third cycle then a doctorate of State in geography. He becomes professor at the university of Paris VIII in 1973.

He also teaches geography, landscapes and architecture, initially at the Special School of Architecture then at the School of Architecture of Paris-Belleville, resulting from the School of " Beaux Arts ", until year 2000.

He personally carried out the illustrations of two of his books : " The urban housing " (" L'habitat urbain ") and "Public squares" (" Les places, espace public "), both published at the Dunod editions.

His passion for the drawing never weakened. When one asks him : " How did you come to painting, to drawing ? " he answers : " It has always been a passion for me, that is why I never wanted to make a trade of it. During the war, in 1943, my mother, who was a teacher Place des Vosges, took me with her in her classroom with her eight year old pupils. I kept on drawing and I never stopped. Thereafter, I was lucky to follow during several years the courses of a Prize of Rome. As soon as I have a moment I make a watercolour, a gouache, an oil painting, a pen-and-ink drawing. The variety of these techniques, their richnesses, captivate me. I do not imitate anybody, but mainy painters whose work I know enchant me and I am fascinated by their talent. When one of my drawings is appreciated, I am very happy and I would like that others, through my works, share the same pleasure. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to expose at Villefranche-sur-mer, in the South of France, and it was an experiment very enriching from an artistic point of view. Internet also seems to me to be an attractive vector even if, of course, the pictures modify a little the real colors and cannot completely release the environment, the magic of a painting. "