Petitjean painted views of several ports on the Atlantic coast. He first exhibited in Paris in 1874 at the Salon des Artistes Français, of which he became a member in 1883. He also exhibited in Munich in 1890. He was awarded an honourable mention in 1881, a first-class medal in 1884, a second-class in 1885, a silver at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1889, and a gold at the Exposition Universelle of 1900. He was declared hors concours, and made a Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur in 1892.

Museum and Gallery Holdings

Amiens: Village in the Neufchâteau Region; Hamlet in the Franche-Comté
Arras: Entrance to Antwerp Harbour
Chambéry (MBA): Landscape
Cherbourg: Ramparts at Flessingue
Digne-les-Bains: Lock
Épinal: At Sables d'Orlonne
Gray: Flowering Fields near Paris
La Rochelle: Riverbank; Inner Port of Bordeaux
Nancy (MBA): Village Street in Lorraine; The Meuse at Verdun
Paris: Port of La Rochelle in Stormy Weather
Paris (Mus. du Petit Palais): Village of Gudmond; Bridge of Rochereuil
Périgueux: Château de Beynac
Rheims: Florimont in Lorraine
Toul: Port of Le Havre