[PDF] Jean-Léon Gérôme, Vue de la plaine de Thèbes - Figurines

Who was Jean-Léon Gérôme?

Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880."

What did Gérôme do for a living?

Gérôme abandoned his dream of winning the Prix de Rome and took advantage of his sudden success. His paintings The Virgin, the Infant Jesus and Saint John and Anacreon, Bacchus and Eros took a second-class medal at the Paris Salon in 1848. In 1849, he produced the paintings Michelangelo (also called In his Studio) and A Portrait of a Lady .

When did Gérôme return to the Salon?

Gérôme returned successfully to the Salon in 1873 with his painting L' Eminence Grise ( Museum of Fine Arts, Boston ), a colorful depiction of the main stair hall of the palace of Cardinal Richelieu, popularly known as the Red Cardinal ( L'Eminence Rouge ), who was France's de facto ruler under King Louis XIII beginning in 1624.

Did Gérôme sculpt a Pygmalion?

Gérôme also sculpted a tinted-marble Pygmalion and Galatea (1891) based on his paintings.