 At the end of the year 1700, it fell to Cardinal de Bouillon as the longest serving cardinal to consecrate his friend, the art loving Giovanni Francesco Albani, as Pope Clement XI.The many years of papal frugality were over, and Le Gros decided that this was the time to be ambitious.Elected a member of the Accademia di San Luca in 1700, he presented the terracotta relief "The Arts Paying Tribute to Pope Clement XI" as his reception piece in 1702.