in 1831, menn was second in the annual drawing competition of the geneva art society. the following year, he entered the studio of the swiss history painter (1801–1884), who was a pupil of baron gros and became acquainted with jean-auguste-dominique ingres. there, menn was educated in figure drawing and composition before heading for paris, where, in fall 1833, he entered the studio of ingres. he was, therefore, no beginner when meeting the master, but needed some polishing and refinement in his art. in a letter to his friend jules hébert, menn reported on the new situation: "everybody, even the eldest in the studio tremble before mr. ingres. one fears him a lot in such a way that his corrections have a great impact. he is of an extreme sensibility." while the education in ingres’ studio has been described by , as follows: "the students spend half of their time studying nature and half studying the masters among which they are especially attached to phidias, the bas-reliefs of the parthenon, classical sculpture in general." this explains why among menn's early works there are many copies of the parthenon frieze that had been accessible in paris as a set of plaster casts at the école des beaux-arts since 1816. menn also copied several works by raffael, titian, veronese and rubens in the louvre, and works by ingres.