Jules Barnard was born in Paris. He attended the National School of Fine Arts where he first discovered his talent for drawing. He worked as a designer for the Ministry of Railways before becoming a freelance artist. In 1906 he married his wife, Marcelle, and the couple moved to Munich where Jules began his career as an artist
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His work was mainly figurative but also included landscapes, nudes, and still lifes. In 1912 he was awarded a medal at the Salon des Indépendants in Paris. His drawing of his son appeared on the front page of several German newspapers.
After the outbreak of World War I, Jules fled France to live in Switzerland where he painted again but also became involved with political activism which brought him to the attention of the Swiss authorities. After being rejected by Switzerland's Federal Police for having refused to join the army, Jules decided to travel through Europe and Asia until finally settling in Paris in 1920. Although he continued his artistic career during this period, he took up writing as a vocation and published many articles about art and politics for different French magazines such as Le Réalisme et la Vie Moderne (1924), Les Temps Modernes (1931), and Jeune France (1934).
He also wrote several books including La Lettre de mon Pays (1921) and Le Dessin de ma Vie (1929).