Brosset began studying to join the Jesuits in Paris, but then realized the priesthood was not his calling. He had studied Hebrew there, and then began adding Chinese and other eastern languages to his repertoire. When he added Georgian and Armenian, the Paris Asiatic Society took notice; in order to learn more about Georgia, he studied Russian. When the French political turmoils of 1830 disrupted his plans, President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Sergei Uvarov brought him to St. Petersburg, where he became renowned as an Orientalist. He served as director of the Eastern Section of the IRAO, 1859-67. His voyage to the Zakavkaze in 1847-48 produced a book of marvelous etchings.
Prospect