After studying at Lille drawing school, he took an apprenticeship in the Paris studio of J-L. David. He arrived in Italy after the Napoleonic campaign and settled in Rome in 1800, becoming an important portraitist. In 1806, at Canova’s recommendation, he was appointed by Joseph Bonaparte as head of the Naples Academy of Fine Arts, living in the city until 1809. Wicar’s relationship with the family of Napoleon’s elder brother was especially close. He produced a series of paintings for the French royalty, including the Portrait of Julie Clary with her daughters Zenaide and Charlotte and the Portrait of General Masséna, now in Caserta Palace. When he died, Wicar left his collection of drawings to the Société des Sciences, de l’Agriculture et des Arts in Lille. These works, gathered throughout his life, numbered around 1300 and were largely from the Italian school; they now adorn the city’s Musée des Beaux-Arts.