Early art historian to popularize the study of the Italian "Primitives" De la poésie chétienne, 1836. Rio's parents were deeply religious Royalist peasants. The younger Rio was raised in Brittany, fought for the Royalists in the Petite Chouannerie of 1814, and considered the priesthood until 1819 when he moved to Paris. By 1828 he was aligned with the Comte Auguste de la Ferronays (1777-1842), the Foreign Minister to Charles X and a major exponent of the Catholic Revival in France.