 As a student of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture Le Gros was awarded the prestigious Prix de Rome to study at the French Academy in Rome, where he arrived in 1690.There, he renewed his close friendship with his cousin Pierre Lepautre, also a sculptor, and struck a friendship with the Academy's other fellow, the architect Gilles-Marie Oppenordt.His time there from 1690–1695 was fruitful but not untroubled.