Desenne was self-educated, according to J.-B.-J. Duchesne (Revue Universelle des Arts, XVIII, 1863, pp.229-235) who records his training included making copies after paintings in the Paris museums and two early commissions to make copies for the collectors Robillard and Filhol. The bulk of his artistic output took the form of literary engravings and as these were frequently compared with those of Jean Michel Moreau he chose, according to Duchesne (ibid.), to seek out works which had not been illustrated by Moreau. Despite this self-imposed restriction his output included illustrations to works by Rousseau, Molière, Chateaubriand and Walter Scott