He made possible the prescribing of combinations of spherical and cylindrical lenses to treat astigmatism. Joseph Forlenze (1757–1833) (Italy), specialist in cataract surgery, became popular during the First French Empire, healing, among many, personalities such as the minister Jean-Étienne-Marie Portalis and the poet Ponce Denis Lebrun. He was nominated by Napoleon "chirurgien oculiste of the lycees, the civil hospices and all the charitable institutions of the departments of the Empire".[27] He was known also for his free interventions, mainly in favour of poor people.