He was born in Ghent in 1890, four years after his brother, the sculptor Jan Frans. He studied art at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Ghent), together with Frans Masereel, where his teachers included Jean Delvin and Felix Metdepenningen.
His early art is influenced by Georges Minne and Constantin Meunier. Later influences include fauvism, cubism and German Expressionism, before he became one of the founders of the Flemish expressionism movement with Frits Van den Berghe and Gustave de Smet. Together with Oscar Jespers, Cantré is considered the main sculptor in the movement.
He was one of the main avant-garde illustrators in Belgium between World War I and World War II as a member of De Vijf ("The Five") together with his brother Jan Frans Cantré, Joris Minne, Frans Masereel and Henri Van Straeten. Most of his graphic work consisted of engravings and woodcuts, as stand-alone works, ex-libris, or book illustrations. As a sculptor, he worked in wood, clay and bronze.
