He was taught sculpture by Jean-Baptiste Barré. In 1845, he received a bursary from the city of Rennes and travelled to Paris where he worked at a studio together with a Rennes sculptor called François Lanno.
He was the son of lapidary Valentin Morel, and his mother's family were silversmiths. He learned the lapidary craft from his father and apprenticed with goldsmith Adrien Vachette who worked in the production of gold boxes.