Ernest Victor Hareux was born in Paris in 1847, and by the age of ten was drawing and painting with great enthusiasm. He studied art in Paris, and in 1883 exhibited the first of many paintings at the annual Paris Salon. He became a member of the Société des Artistes Français in 1883.
After a period joining other artists who painted in the Creuze region of France, a fellow artist invited him to paint in and around Grenoble in 1887. Here he found inspiration amongst the mountains, remaining in the area to specialise in mountain landscapes. Over time Ernest Hareux became best known for this particular genre, and was a founding member of the Société des Peintres de Montagne.
Ernest Hareux was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in 1906. He died in Grenoble in 1909, and is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. A street in Grenoble is named after him.