By Jean Leon Gerome Jean-Léon Gérôme (May 11, 1824 – January 10,
1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known
as Academicism. The range of his oeuvre included historical
painting, Greek mythology, Orientalism, portraits and other
subjects, bringing the Academic painting tradition to an
artistic climax. Born at Vesoul (Haute-Saône), he went to Paris
in 1840 where he studied under Paul Delaroche, whom he
accompanied to Italy (1843-1844). He visited Florence, Rome, the
Vatican and Pompeii, but he was more attracted to the world of
nature. Taken by a fever, he was forced to return to Paris in
1844. On his return he followed, like many other students of
Delaroche, into the atelier of Charles Gleyre and studied there
for a brief time. He then attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. In
1846 he tried to enter the prestigious Prix de Rome, but failed
in the final stage because his figure drawing was inadequate. He
tried to improve his skills by painting The Cockfight (1846), an
academic exercise depicting