Charles Catteau was born on January 26, 1880, in Douai, France, the son of a Belgian father and a French mother. From a young age, he was fascinated by the world of art and attended classes at the academy. His passion for ceramics led him to the prestigious Ecole nationale de Céramique de Sèvres, where he graduated as a ceramic engineer in 1903. There, in an atmosphere of creativity and refinement, he further developed his technical and artistic talents at the Manufacture nationale de Porcelaine de Sèvres.

Between 1904 and 1906, life took him to Nymphenburg, near Munich. There, amidst opulent Jugendstil and French Art Nouveau, he found new inspiration. It was also during this period that he fell in love with and married Thusnelde Sauter, which gave his life a new direction. However, his adventurous spirit moved on: in late 1906, he was plucked away from Nymphenburg by the Boch pottery factory with the promise of a new challenge. Catteau moved with his family to La Louvière, where a year later he became head of the Atelier de Fantaisie, the decoration department which he would lead with imagination and precision until 1948. In addition, he dedicated himself to teaching ceramists, glassblowers, and decorative painters at the Ecole industrielle supérieure, thereby passing on his knowledge and passion to a new generation.

In 1910, Catteau received his first gold medal, a recognition of his talent and drive for innovation. The First World War temporarily brought him back to France, but after the armistice, he returned to La Louvière, determined to further shape his artistic vision. In 1922, he found happiness in love once again and married Suzanne Rose Marie Delatre. Influenced by Art Nouveau and later Art Deco, he renewed the forms, decorations, and glazes at Boch Frères, giving the firm a distinctive and recognizable identity. His work was elevated to a pedestal in 1925 at the Exposition internationale des Arts décoratifs et industriels modernes, where both he and Boch Frères were honored for their outstanding creations and vision.

After a long, fruitful career full of creativity and dedication, Catteau retired in 1946. Four years later, he moved to Nice, where he continued painting until his final days, the passion in his heart burning undiminished. His work bore witness to a unique gift: the ability to intertwine art with large-scale production, to create beauty that was both timeless and accessible. His distinctive stamp on the vases became a beloved mark, a commercial asset that would carry his legacy for a long time to come. Although he did not personally create every piece, he oversaw every detail: the shapes, the colors, the composition of the glazes, and the earthenware. In doing so, he created a distinctive style and was rightly called 'l'homme de Keramis', the man who defined the face of Boch Frères and left a lasting impression on the world of ceramic art.