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Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as
academicism Academic art, or academicism or academism, is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Académie ...
. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880." The range of his oeuvre included
historical painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...
,
Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
,
Orientalism In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...
, portraits, and other subjects, bringing the academic painting tradition to an artistic climax. He is considered one of the most important painters from this academic period. He was also a teacher with a long list of students.


Early life

Jean-Léon Gérôme was born at
Vesoul Vesoul () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté located in eastern France. It is the most populated municipality of the department with inhabitants in 2014. The same year, the Communauté d'agglo ...
,
Haute-Saône Haute-Saône (; Arpitan: ''Hiôta-Sona''; English: Upper Saône) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of northeastern France. Named after the river Saône, it had a population of 235,313 in 2019.Paul Delaroche Hippolyte-Paul Delaroche (17 July 1797 – 4 November 1856) was a French painter who achieved his greater successes painting historical scenes. He became famous in Europe for his melodramatic depictions that often portrayed subjects from English ...
, whom he accompanied to Italy in 1843. He visited
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, Rome, the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
and Pompeii. On his return to Paris in 1844, like many students of Delaroche, he joined the
atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or ...
of
Charles Gleyre Marc Gabriel Charles Gleyre (2 May 1806 – 5 May 1874), was a Swiss artist who was a resident in France from an early age. He took over the studio of Paul Delaroche in 1843 and taught a number of younger artists who became prominent, including H ...
and studied there for a brief time. He then attended the
École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...
. In 1846 he tried to enter the prestigious
Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...
, but failed in the final stage because his figure drawing was inadequate.Chisholm, Hugh, ed. "Gérôme, Jean Léon," ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (11th ed.). Cambridge University, 1901. His painting ''
The Cock Fight ''The Cock Fight'' () is an 1846 painting by the French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme. It is also known as ''Young Greeks Attending a Cock Fight'' (''Jeunes Grecs faisant battre des coqs''). It is an example of the Neo-Grec style. It was one of Gér ...
'' (1846) is an academic exercise depicting a nude young man and a very thinly draped young woman with two
fighting cocks A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...
, with the Bay of
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
in the background. He sent this painting to the Paris Salon of 1847, where it gained him a third-class medal. This work was seen as the epitome of the
Neo-Grec Néo-Grec was a Neoclassical Revival style of the mid-to-late 19th century that was popularized in architecture, the decorative arts, and in painting during France's Second Empire, or the reign of Napoleon III (1852–1870). The Néo-Grec v ...
movement that had formed out of Gleyre's studio (including
Henri-Pierre Picou Henri-Pierre Picou (Nantes 27 February 1824 – 17 July 1895) was a French painter. His oeuvre began with portraits and classical historical subject matter but he later moved on to allegorical and mythological themes. He was an academic pai ...
and
Jean-Louis Hamon Jean-Louis Hamon (5 May 1821 – 29 May 1874) was a French painter. Hamon was born at Plouha, in today's Côtes-d'Armor ''département'', in France. At an early age he was intended for the priesthood, and placed under the care of the brother ...
), and was championed by the influential French critic
Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...
, whose review made Gérôme famous and effectively launched his career. 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''. In 1851, he decorated a vase later offered by Emperor
Napoleon III of France Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
to Prince Albert, now part of the Royal Collection at St. James's Palace, London. He exhibited ''Greek Interior'', ''Souvenir d'Italie'', ''Bacchus and Love, Drunk'' in 1851; ''Paestum'' in 1852; and ''An Idyll'' in 1853.


Important commissions

In 1852, Gérôme received a commission to paint a large mural of an allegorical subject of his choosing. ''The Age of Augustus, the Birth of Christ'', which combined the birth of Christ with conquered nations paying homage to Augustus, may have been intended to flatter
Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
, whose government commissioned the mural and who was identified as a "new Augustus." A considerable down payment enabled Gérôme to travel and research, first in 1853 to Constantinople, together with the actor Edmond Got, and in 1854 to Greece and Turkey and the shores of the Danube, where he was present at a concert of Russian conscripts making music under the threat of a lash. In 1853, Gérôme moved to the Boîte à Thé, a group of studios in the Rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs, Paris. This became a meeting place for artists, writers and actors, where
George Sand Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. One of the most popular writers in Europe in her lifetime, bein ...
entertained the composers: Hector Berlioz, Johannes Brahms and
Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...
and the novelists
Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rema ...
and
Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...
. In 1854, he completed another important commission, decorating the Chapel of St. Jerome in the church of St. Séverin in Paris. His ''Last Communion of St. Jerome'' in this chapel reflects the influence of the school of Ingres on his religious works. To the Universal Exhibition of 1855 he contributed ''Pifferaro'', ''Shepherd'', and ''The Age of Augustus, the Birth of Christ'', but it was the modest painting ''Recreation in a Russian Camp'' that garnered the most attention.


Orientalism

In 1856, Gérôme visited Egypt for the first time. His itinerary followed the classic
Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...
of the Near East, up the Nile to Cairo, across to
Faiyum Faiyum ( ar, الفيوم ' , borrowed from cop,  ̀Ⲫⲓⲟⲙ or Ⲫⲓⲱⲙ ' from egy, pꜣ ym "the Sea, Lake") is a city in Middle Egypt. Located southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum ...
, then further up the Nile to Abu Simbel, then back to Cairo, across the
Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is ...
through Sinai and up the Wadi el-Araba to Jerusalem and finally
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
. This heralded the start of many Orientalist paintings depicting Arab religious practice,
genre scenes Genre art is the pictorial representation in any of various media of scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, work, and street scenes. Such representations (also called genre works, ...
and North African landscapes. Among these are paintings in which the Oriental setting is combined with depictions of female nudity. '' The Slave Market'', ''The Large Pool of Bursa'', ''Pool in a Harem'', and similar subjects were works of imagination in which Gérôme combined accurately observed Middle Eastern architectural details with idealized nudes painted in his Paris studio. (In 2019, the right wing populist
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
party, Alternative for Germany, used ''The Slave Market'' in a campaign poster in the 2019 European Parliament election.) In his travels, Gérôme collected artefacts and costumes for staging oriental scenes in the studio, and also made oil studies from nature for the backgrounds. In an autobiographical essay of 1878, Gérôme described how important oil sketches made on the spot were for him: "Even when worn out after long marches under the bright sun, as soon as our camping spot was reached I got down to work with concentration. But Oh! How many things were left behind of which I carried only the memory away! And I prefer three touches of color on a piece of canvas to the most vivid memory, but one had to continue on with some regret." Gérôme's reputation was greatly enhanced at the Paris Salon of 1857 by his display of ''Egyptian Recruits Crossing the Desert'', ''Memnon and Sesostris'', ''Camels Watering'', and ''Suite d'un bal masqué'' (purchased by the duc d'Aumale, now in the
Musée Condé The Musée Condé – in English, the Condé Museum – is a French museum located inside the Château de Chantilly in Chantilly, Oise, 40 km north of Paris. In 1897, Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale, son of Louis Philippe I, bequeathed the ...
in
Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department **US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missou ...
; a copy made by Gérôme in 1859, ''
The Duel After the Masquerade ''The Duel After the Masquerade'' is a painting by the French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme, of which multiple copies exist. The original, ''Suite d'un bal masqué'', first shown in 1857, is in the Musée Condé in Chantilly, France. History Gér ...
'', is in the
Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...
).


Return to Classical subjects

In 1858, he helped to decorate the Paris house of Prince
Napoléon Joseph Charles Paul Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
in the Pompeian style. The prince had bought his ''Greek Interior'' (1850), a depiction of a brothel also in the Pompeian manner. In ''Ave Caesar! Morituri te Salutant'', shown at the Salon of 1859, Gérôme returned to the painting of Classical subjects, but the picture failed to interest the public. ''King Candaules'' (1859) and '' Phryne Before the Areopagus'' and ''Socrates Seeking Alcibiades in the House of Aspasia'' (both 1861) gave rise to some scandal by reason of the subjects selected by the painter, and inspired bitter attacks by
Paul de Saint-Victor Paul Bins, comte de Saint-Victor (11 July 1827 in Paris – 9 July 1881 in Paris), known as Paul de Saint-Victor, a French author and critic. He is likely most known today as a French cultural figure mentioned by Marcel Proust in the novel ''In Se ...
and
Maxime Du Camp Maxime Du Camp (8 February 1822 – 9 February 1894) was a French writer and photographer. Biography Born in Paris, Du Camp was the son of a successful surgeon. After finishing college, he indulged in his strong desire for travel, thanks to ...
. Also at the 1861
Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...
he exhibited ''Egyptian Chopping Straw'' and ''Rembrandt Biting an Etching'', two very minutely finished works. In 1863, he married Marie Goupil (1842–1912), the daughter of the international art dealer
Adolphe Goupil ''Adolphe'' is a classic French novel by Benjamin Constant, first published in 1816. It tells the story of an alienated young man, Adolphe, who falls in love with an older woman, Ellénore, the Polish mistress of the Comte de P***. Their illicit ...
. They had four daughters and one son. His oldest daughter was Jeanne (1863-1944) and she was followed by Suzanne (1867-1941; married to Aimé Morot), Blanche (1868-1918) and Madeleine (1875-1905). Upon his marriage he moved to a house in the Rue de Bruxelles, close to the
Folies Bergère The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall, located in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the architect Plumeret. It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trév ...
. He expanded it into a grand house with stables with a sculpture studio below and a painting studio on the top floor.


Atelier at École des Beaux-Arts

Gérôme was appointed as one of the three professors at the
École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...
. He started with sixteen students. Between 1864 and 1904, more than 2,000 students received at least some of their art education through Gérôme's atelier at the École des Beaux-Arts. Places in Gérôme's atelier were limited, keenly sought and highly competitive. Only the best students were admitted and aspirants considered it an honour to be selected. Gérôme progressed his students through drawing from antique works, casts and followed by life study with live models generally selected on the basis of their physique, but occasionally for their facial expression in a sequence of exercises known as the ''academie.'' Students drew parts of a bust before the entire bust, then parts of the live model before preparing full figures. Only when they had mastered sketching were they permitted to work in oils. They were also taught to draw clearly and correctly before consideration of tonal qualities. In his school, the floor sloped so that students had the fullest view of the model from the rear of the room. Students sat around any model in order of seniority, with the more senior students towards the rear so that they could draw the full figure, while the more junior members sat towards the front and concentrated on the bust or other part of the anatomy. According to John Milner, who studied with Gérôme, his atelier was the most "riotous" and "lewd" of all the studios at Beaux-Arts. Students were treated to bizarre initiation rites which included slashing each other's canvases, throwing students down stairs, out of windows, and onto upturned stools, staging fencing matches on the model's dais, in the nude and with paintbrushes loaded with paint. Gérôme attended every Wednesday and Saturday, demanding punctilious attendance to his instructions. His reputation as a severe critic was well-known. One of his American students, Stephen Wilson Van Shaick, commented that Gérôme was "merciless in judgement" yet possessed a "singular magnetism." Although Gérôme was very demanding of his students, he offered them considerable assistance outside Beaux-Arts, inviting them to his personal studio, making recommendations to the
Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...
on their behalf, and encouraging them to study with his colleagues.


Honors and mid-career works

Gérôme was elected, on his fifth attempt, a member of the
Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute ...
in 1865. Already a knight in the
Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
, he was promoted to an officer in 1867. In 1869, he was elected an honorary member of the British
Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
. The King of Prussia,
Wilhelm I William I or Wilhelm I (german: Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 2 January 1861 and German Emperor from 18 January 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the ...
, awarded him the Grand
Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle (german: Roter Adlerorden) was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful se ...
, Third Class. His influence became extensive and he was a regular guest of Empress Eugénie at the Imperial Court in
Compiègne Compiègne (; pcd, Compiène) is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It is located on the river Oise. Its inhabitants are called ''Compiégnois''. Administration Compiègne is the seat of two cantons: * Compiègne-1 (with 19 ...
. Along with the most eminent French artists, he was invited to the opening of the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
in 1869. The
Société des Peintres Orientalistes Français The Société des Peintres Orientalistes Français (; " Orientalist French Painters Society") was an art society founded in 1893 to promote not only Orientalism but also the travel of French artists in the Far East. Formation and early history F ...
(Society of French Orientalist Painters), founded in 1893, named Gérôme honorary president. ''
The Execution of Marshal Ney ''The Execution of Marshal Ney'' () is an 1868 painting by the French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme. It depicts the French Marshal Michel Ney immediately after his execution on 7 December 1815, with the firing squad seen marching away from the site ...
'' was exhibited at the Salon of 1868. On behalf of Ney's descendants, Gérôme was asked to withdraw the painting, but did not comply. The general reception was very split and the 1868 Salon marked the beginning of a lasting divide between Gérôme and many French art critics, who accused him of relying on literary techniques, of commercialising art, and of bringing politics into art. Henri Oulevay made a caricature where Gérôme is depicted in front of the wall with the art critics as the firing squad. In 1872 Gérôme produced ''
Pollice Verso ' or ' () is a Latin phrase, meaning "with a turned thumb", that is used in the context of gladiatorial combat. It refers to a hand gesture or thumb signal used by Ancient Roman crowds to pass judgment on a defeated gladiator. The precise ges ...
'', a painting of bloody gladiators and blood-thirsty
Vestal virgins In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals ( la, Vestālēs, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame. The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty ...
in the
Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world t ...
that became one of his most famous works. Alexander Turney Stewart purchased the painting from Gérôme at a price of 80,000 francs, setting a new record for the artist. Gérôme's imagery of the turned thumb to signal life or death for a fallen gladiator was repeated in a multitude of movies, from the silent era up to and including the 2000 Oscar-winner '' Gladiator''. Gérôme returned successfully to the Salon in 1873 with his painting ''L'
Eminence Grise Eminence may refer to: Places * Eminence, Arkansas, a place in Arkansas, U.S. * Eminence, Indiana, U.S. * Eminence, Kansas, U.S. * Eminence, Kentucky, U.S. * Eminence, Mississippi, in Covington County, Mississippi, U.S. * Eminence, Missouri, ...
'' (
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston The Museum of Fine Arts (often abbreviated as MFA Boston or MFA) is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the 20th-largest art museum in the world, measured by public gallery area. It contains 8,161 paintings and more than 450,000 works ...
), 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 ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
'' ruler under King
Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...
beginning in 1624. In the painting, François Le Clerc du Trembly, a Capuchin friar dubbed ''L'
Eminence Grise Eminence may refer to: Places * Eminence, Arkansas, a place in Arkansas, U.S. * Eminence, Indiana, U.S. * Eminence, Kansas, U.S. * Eminence, Kentucky, U.S. * Eminence, Mississippi, in Covington County, Mississippi, U.S. * Eminence, Missouri, ...
'' (the Gray Cardinal), descends the ceremonial staircase immersed in reading the Bible while all others either bow before him or fix their gaze on him. As Richelieu's chief adviser, ''L'
Eminence Grise Eminence may refer to: Places * Eminence, Arkansas, a place in Arkansas, U.S. * Eminence, Indiana, U.S. * Eminence, Kansas, U.S. * Eminence, Kentucky, U.S. * Eminence, Mississippi, in Covington County, Mississippi, U.S. * Eminence, Missouri, ...
'' was called "the power behind the throne," which became the known definition of his title.


Sculpture

In his thirties, Gérôme took up sculpture. His first work was a large bronze statue of a gladiator holding his foot on his victim, based on his painting
Pollice Verso ' or ' () is a Latin phrase, meaning "with a turned thumb", that is used in the context of gladiatorial combat. It refers to a hand gesture or thumb signal used by Ancient Roman crowds to pass judgment on a defeated gladiator. The precise ges ...
(1872) and shown to the public at the Universal Exhibition of 1878. The same year he exhibited a marble statue at the Salon of 1878, based on his early painting ''Anacreon, Bacchus and Eros'' (1848). Aware of contemporary experiments of tinting marble (such as by those by John Gibson), he produced ''Dancer with Three Masks'' combining movement with color, first exhibited in 1902 and now in the
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen is a fine arts museum in the French city of Caen, founded at the start of the 19th century and rebuilt in 1971 within the ducal château. History Opening On September 1, 1801, the Minister of Interior Jean-A ...
. Among his other sculptures are ''
Omphale In Greek mythology, Omphale (; Ancient Greek: Ὀμφάλη) was queen of the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor. Diodorus Siculus provides the first appearance of the Omphale theme in literature, though Aeschylus was aware of the episode. The Gree ...
'' (1887) and the statue of the duc d'Aumale which stands in front of the
Château de Chantilly The Château de Chantilly () is a historic French château located in the town of Chantilly, Oise, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Paris. The site comprises two attached buildings: the Petit Château built around 1560 for Anne de Montmor ...
(1899). He experimented with mixed ingredients, using for his statues tinted marble, bronze and
ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...
inlaid with precious stones and paste. His ''Dancer'' was exhibited in 1891. His lifesize statue ''Bellona'', in ivory, bronze, and gemstones, attracted great attention at the 1892 exhibition in the
Royal Academy of London The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
. Gérôme then began a series of conquerors, wrought in gold, silver and gems: ''Bonaparte Entering Cairo'' (1897), ''Tamerlane'' (1898), and ''Frederick the Great'' (1899). In 1903 Gérôme executed a two sculpture commission, ''Metallugical Worker'' and ''Metallurgical Science'' for the American millionaire Charles M. Schwab meant to glorify
Steel production Steelmaking is the process of producing steel from iron ore and carbon/or scrap. In steelmaking, impurities such as nitrogen, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur and excess carbon (the most important impurity) are removed from the sourced iron, and ...
. Schwab sent an actual steel worker to Paris to pose for the works.


Gérôme and Impressionism

During the last decades of his career, as his own work fell out of fashion, Gérôme was harshly critical of
Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
. In 1894, he caused a scandal over his opposition to the Caillebotte bequest to the state which eventually became the foundation of the Musée d'Orsay collection. He organized a public demonstration in his atelier and gave interviews to reporters, including these comments published in the journal ''L'Éclair'':
The
Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute ...
cannot remain still before such a scandal...How can the government dare welcome such a collection of inanities into a museum? Why, have you seen the collection? The state, the ward of such junk!... What lessons are our young artists going to receive from now on? They'll all start to do Impressionism! Ah! these people believe they are painting nature, nature so admirable in all its manifestations! What pretension! Nature is not for them! This
Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...
, do you remember his cathedrals? And that man used to know how to paint! Yes, I've seen good things by him, but now!
Similarly he objected to the
Manet A wireless ad hoc network (WANET) or mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a decentralized type of wireless network. The network is ad hoc because it does not rely on a pre-existing infrastructure, such as routers in wired networks or access points ...
memorial exhibition at the
École des Beaux Arts École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...
in 1884. But he did attend the opening, after which he paid Manet the backhanded compliment that the exhibition was "not so bad as I thought."


Late career: the Pygmalion–Tanagra cycle

Beginning in 1890, Gerome again drew inspiration from the ancient world with an interconnected, slyly self-referential series of paintings and sculptures that depicted
Pygmalion Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to: Mythology * Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue Stage * ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau * ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...
and
Galatea Galatea is an ancient Greek name meaning "she who is milk-white". Galatea, Galathea or Gallathea may refer to: In mythology * Galatea (Greek myth), three different mythological figures In the arts * ''Aci, Galatea e Polifemo'', cantata by H ...
; the spirit of
Tanagra Tanagra ( el, Τανάγρα) is a town and a municipality north of Athens in Boeotia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Schimatari. It is not far from Thebes, and it was noted in antiquity for the figurines named after it. The ...
; and himself. In 1890, Gérôme made at least two paintings of the mythical Greek sculptor
Pygmalion Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to: Mythology * Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue Stage * ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau * ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...
kissing his statue of
Galatea Galatea is an ancient Greek name meaning "she who is milk-white". Galatea, Galathea or Gallathea may refer to: In mythology * Galatea (Greek myth), three different mythological figures In the arts * ''Aci, Galatea e Polifemo'', cantata by H ...
at the very moment she is transformed from marble into living flesh. The most famous of these paintings titled ''Pygmalion and Galatea'' is now in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
; it shows the sculptor and his living statue from the rear. A variation (in private hands) shows them from the front. Also in 1890, responding to widespread fascination with the ancient
Tanagra figurines The Tanagra figurines were a mold-cast type of Greek terracotta figurines produced from the later fourth century BC, named after the Boeotian town of Tanagra, where many were excavated and which has given its name to the whole class. However, they ...
recently excavated in Greece, Gérôme sculpted the 5-foot-high, tinted-marble ''Tanagra'', a female nude personifying the
Tyche Tyche (; Ancient Greek: Τύχη ''Túkhē'', 'Luck', , ; Roman equivalent: Fortuna) was the presiding tutelary deity who governed the fortune and prosperity of a city, its destiny. In Classical Greek mythology, she is the daughter of Aphrodite ...
, or presiding spirit, of the ancient city. She holds on her upraised palm a figurine of a female Hoop Dancer (Gérôme's own invention, inspired by, but not a copy of, an actual
Tanagra figurine The Tanagra figurines were a mold-cast type of Greek terracotta figurines produced from the later fourth century BC, named after the Boeotian town of Tanagra, where many were excavated and which has given its name to the whole class. However, the ...
). "Inspired by his characteristic desire for both archaeological accuracy and realism, Gérôme delicately tinted the skin, hair, lips, and nipples of his ''Tanagra'', causing a sensation at the
Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...
of 1890." Gérôme subsequently created smaller, gilded bronze versions of ''Tanagra''; several versions of the "Hoop Dancer" figurine held by ''Tanagra'' (these became "Gérôme's most popular and widely reproduced sculpture"); two paintings of an imaginary ancient Tanagra workshop where copies of his own Hoop Dancer are on display; and two self-portraits of himself sculpting ''Tanagra'' from a living model in his Paris atelier, in which a Hoop Dancer and two different versions of ''Pygmalion and Galatea'' can be seen in the background. This complex self-portrait has been called "a summation of Gérôme's remarkable career as both painter and sculptor." Gérôme also sculpted a tinted-marble ''Pygmalion and Galatea'' (1891) based on his paintings. In this cycle of works, with its exploration of
Classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
, creative inspiration, doppelgängers, and female beauty, we see Gérôme "powerfully evoking the continuous interplay between painting and sculpture, reality and artifice, as well as highlighting the inherently theatrical nature of the artist's studio."


''Truth''—"This is our ''Mona Lisa''"

Beginning in the mid-1890s, in the last decade of his life, Gérôme made at least four paintings personifying Truth as a nude woman, either thrown into, at the bottom of, or emerging from a well. The imagery was inspired by an aphorism of the philosopher
Democritus Democritus (; el, Δημόκριτος, ''Dēmókritos'', meaning "chosen of the people"; – ) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe. No ...
, "Of truth we know nothing, for truth is in a well." '' Truth Coming Out of Her Well, Armed with Her Whip to Chastise Mankind'' was exhibited in the ''Salon du Champ de Mars'' of 1896. It has been assumed that the painting was a comment on the
Dreyfus affair The Dreyfus affair (french: affaire Dreyfus, ) was a political scandal that divided the French Third Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. "L'Affaire", as it is known in French, has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francop ...
, but art historian Bernard Tillier argues that Gérôme's images of Truth and the well were part of his ongoing diatribe against
Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
. Gérôme himself invoked the metaphor of Truth and the well in a preface he wrote for
Émile Bayard Émile-Antoine Bayard (2 November 1837 – 6 December 1891) was a French illustrator born in La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, Seine-et-Marne. A student of Léon Cogniet, he is known for his illustration of Cosette from ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hug ...
's ''Le Nu Esthétique'', published in 1902, to characterize the profound and irreversible influence of photography:
Photography is an art. It forces artists to discard their old routine and forget their old formulas. It has opened our eyes and forced us to see that which previously we have not seen; a great and inexpressible service for Art. It is thanks to photography that Truth has finally come out of her well. She will never go back.
In 2012, the in Moulins, France, which now owns the painting, mounted the exhibition ''La vérité est au musée'' ("Truth is at the Museum"), which collected numerous drawings, sketches, and variants made by Gérôme, and by other artists, relating to the painting and its theme. The multiple interpretations of the painting's enigmatic meaning prompted one of the museum's curators to say, "C'est notre Joconde à nous." ("This is our ''
Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a Half length portrait, half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described ...
''.")


Death

By the end of his life, Gérôme felt very much a man out of his time. In 1903, recalling his first meeting with Charles Jalabert in 1840, he wrote:
At that time, Paris had nothing to do with the Paris of today: no railways, no bicycles, no cars; we were less agitated, and certain districts, among others the one we lived in and which we called the Latin Quarter, had a provincial aspect in their calm and tranquility. Now everything is changed; we no longer walk, we run like crazy; if we are not crushed during the day, we have a good chance of being murdered at night. It is charming. We have witnessed the end of a world, we are witnessing the dawn of a new one, which lacks the picturesque and above all serenity. The day is not far off when, through our customs, our ways of being, our love of the dollar (''auri sacra fames''), we will no longer be French, neither in spirit nor in heart. Horrible to think of! We will be Americans!
On 31 December 1903, Gérôme wrote to his student and former assistant Albert Aublet, "I begin to have enough of life. I've seen too much misery and misfortune in the lives of others. I still see it every day, and I'm getting eager to escape this theatre." He was to live just ten more days. On 10 January 1904, "the maid found him dead in the little room next to his atelier, slumped in front of a portrait of Rembrandt and at the foot of his own painting ''Truth''"—but the source for this anecdote, the biographer Moreau-Vauthier, does not specify which painting of ''Truth''. He was 79. At his own request, he was given a simple burial service without flowers. But the
Requiem Mass A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
given in his memory was attended by a former president of the Republic, most prominent politicians, and many painters and writers. He was buried in the
Montmartre Cemetery The Cemetery of Montmartre (french: link=no, Cimetière de Montmartre) is a cemetery in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, France, that dates to the early 19th century. Officially known as the Cimetière du Nord, it is the third largest necropolis ...
in front of the statue ''La Douleur (Pain)'', which he had cast for his son Jean who had died in 1891.


Legacy

Gérôme's legacy lived on through the works of his thousands of students from many countries, including: Odilon Redon,
Mary Cassatt Mary Stevenson Cassatt (; May 22, 1844June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh's North Side), but lived much of her adult life in France, where she befriended Edgar De ...
, Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin, Stanisław Chlebowski, Ahmed Ali Bey,
Henri-Camille Danger Henri-Camille Danger (1857 – 1939) was a French artist known for history paintings, allegorical and mythological subjects, genre scenes, landscapes and designs for tapestries. Early life and education Henri-Camille was the son of Jules Félix ...
and Hosui Yamamoto, and many who traveled to Paris from the United States to study under him, including
Thomas Eakins Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins (; July 25, 1844 – June 25, 1916) was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important American artists. For the length ...
,
Edwin Lord Weeks Edwin Lord Weeks (18491903) was an American artist, noted for his Orientalist works. Life Weeks was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1849. His parents were affluent spice and tea merchants from Newton, a suburb of Boston, and as such they wer ...
, and
Gottardo Piazzoni Gottardo Fidele Piazzoni (1872–1945) was a Swiss-born American landscape painter, muralist and sculptor of Italian heritage, a key member of the school of Northern California artists in the early 1900s. Life and career Born in Intragna, Switz ...
.Neff, Emily Ballew. ''The Modern West: American Landscapes, 1890-1950'', Yale University Press, 2006, p. 108. Gérôme's prodigious energy, long career, and wide popularity resulted in an enormous body of work that now resides in museums and private collections around the world; Ackerman's revised ''catalogue raisonné'' of 2018 lists approximately 700 paintings and 70 sculptures.
In the early 1870s Gérôme was known for an astonishing range of visual exotica, all realized in precise, minute detail, achieved with thin layers of paint that revealed nary a brushstroke...His works were particularly sought after by wealthy Americans...Over the course of his career, Gérôme sold to American patrons 144 paintings, nearly a quarter of his production. _work_by_Gérôme_in_the_Nob_Hill_mansion_of_Leland_Stanford.html" ;"title="Nob_Hill.html" ;"title=" work by Gérôme in the Nob Hill"> work by Gérôme in the Nob Hill mansion of Leland Stanford">Nob_Hill.html" ;"title=" work by Gérôme in the Nob Hill"> work by Gérôme in the Nob Hill mansion of Leland Stanford was destroyed in the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906.] Despite his prodigious output and enormous transatlantic success, most scholarly articles of recent decades cite Gérôme's work as a noxious blend of the trite, the exploitative and the stultifying academic. However, the latest scholarship is re-evaluating Gérôme and his importance in the nineteenth century. A 2010 essay by art historian Mary G. Morton…points out that, contrary to most twenty- and twenty-first century perspectives…Americans n the 1800sfound Gérôme's paintings complex, edifying and completely modern.
His well-researched and minutely detailed images of gladiator combats, chariot races, slave markets, and many other subjects from the ancient world created an indelible impression on popular culture. His ethnographic imagery of Arab and Islamic culture, controversial in his own lifetime, is now even more closely scrutinized, as is his penchant for female nudity; modern critics raise issues of "cultural appropriation" and "sexual exploitation". These issues of sex and race were epitomized by the use in 2019 of his painting '' The Slave Market'' in an anti-Muslim campaign poster by the right wing populist
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
party, Alternative for Germany, to the consternation of the American museum that owns the painting. Despite charges that the Orientalizing paintings of Gérôme (and others) exploited and indulged in stereotypes of Arab and Muslim cultures, there is now "a high level of interest in collecting Gérôme's art in the Middle East," as evinced by high prices paid at auction for his work by the Qatar Museums Authority in Doha. "They want to take it back and have it for themselves," says art historian Emily M. Weeks. Egyptian industrialist and art collector Shafik Gabr sees Gérôme and other Orientalist painters as "intrepid early globalists who put themselves at risk to document a new world opened by Napoleon Bonaparte’s Egyptian expedition from 1798 to 1801…'I have been inspired by these painters…These people traveled under very difficult circumstances with no knowledge of what to expect. They didn't travel to conquer or find oil. They traveled to discover and to understand.'" Gérôme's highly vocal opposition to
Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
was a losing argument, and his work was relegated to the margins of
art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
by critics, historians, and museum professionals who believed that
his chosen themes corrupted the loftier purposes of art, thus leading to commercialism...they also objected to his
orientalism In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...
, which they disparaged for being untrue, a perversion or concoction of the true Orient....Now, with the exhibition at the Getty Museum, and a larger version of the show opening at the Musée d'Orsay in October 2010, Gérôme is finally receiving the attention he deserves. No longer will he be lost in time, although his paintings, the way he developed them, and his relationship with many of the major issues of artistic creativity in the nineteenth century and beyond will remain controversial.
As with other painters of
Classical Realism Classical Realism is an artistic movement in the late-20th and early 21st century in which drawing and painting place a high value upon skill and beauty, combining elements of 19th-century neoclassicism and realism. Origins The term "Clas ...
and
Academic art Academic art, or academicism or academism, is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Académie ...
of the 19th century, Gérôme's prestige and popularity sharply declined in the 20th century; his painting ''
The Snake Charmer ''The Snake Charmer'' is an oil-on-canvas Orientalist painting by French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme produced around 1879. After it was used on the cover of Edward Said's book ''Orientalism'' in 1978, the work "attained a level of notoriety matche ...
'', which sold for $19,500 in 1888, sold for $500 in 1942. Now his works are once again sought-after in the international art market. In 2008, his painting ''Femme circassienne voilée'' or ''Veiled Circassian Beauty'' (1876) was auctioned for 2,057,250 GBP; it now belongs to the Qatar Museums Authority in Doha. In 2019, his painting ''The Harem in the Kiosk'' (c. 1870–1875) realized 2,655,000 GBP at auction, and his painting ''Riders Crossing the Desert'' (1870) realized 3,135,000 GBP. The most wide-ranging single collection of Gérôme's work may be the several rooms dedicated to displaying his paintings and sculptures at the Musée Georges-Garret in the artist's hometown of Vesoul. Gérôme donated several works to the museum during his lifetime, and his heirs donated more works after his death.


Gallery (chronological)

File:Jean-Léon Gérôme, Phryne revealed before the Areopagus (1861) - 01 (cropped).jpg, '' Phryne Before the Areopagus'' (detail), 1861,
Kunsthalle Hamburg The Hamburger Kunsthalle is the art museum of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Germany. It is one of the largest art museums in the country. The museum consists of three connected buildings, dating from 1869 (main building), 1921 (Kuppelsaa ...
File:Jean Léon Gérôme - The Tryst (exterior).jpg, ''The Tryst (exterior)'', after 1840,
Saint Louis Art Museum The Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) is one of the principal U.S. art museums, with paintings, sculptures, cultural objects, and ancient masterpieces from all corners of the world. Its three-story building stands in Forest Park in St. Louis, ...
File:Jean Léon Gérôme - The Tryst (interior).jpg, ''The Tryst (interior)'', after 1840,
Saint Louis Art Museum The Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) is one of the principal U.S. art museums, with paintings, sculptures, cultural objects, and ancient masterpieces from all corners of the world. Its three-story building stands in Forest Park in St. Louis, ...
File:Saint Vincent de Paule - Gerome.jpg, ''
Saint Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was a Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. In 1622 Vincent was appointed a chaplain to the galleys. After ...
'', 1847, Musée Georges-Garret,
Vesoul Vesoul () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté located in eastern France. It is the most populated municipality of the department with inhabitants in 2014. The same year, the Communauté d'agglo ...
File:Gerome--Armand-Gerome--artists-brother--1848.jpg, Portrait of Claude-Armand Gérôme (brother of the artist), 1848,
The National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director of ...
, London File:Portrait of Claude-Armand Gérôme by Jean-Léon Gérôme.jpg, Portrait of Claude-Armand Gérôme (brother of the artist), c.1848,
Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Vis ...
File:Gérôme--The The Virgin the Infant Jesus and Saint John--1848--private collection.jpg, ''The Virgin, the Infant Jesus and Saint John'', 1848, private collection File:Anachréon Bachus et l' Amour by Gerome.JPG, ''Anacreon, Bacchus, and Eros'', 1848,
Musée des Augustins The Musée des Augustins de Toulouse is a fine arts museum in Toulouse, France which conserves a collection of sculpture and paintings from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century. The paintings are from throughout France, the sculptures represe ...
File:Jean Léon Gérôme - Portrait of a Woman - 1964.338 - Art Institute of Chicago.jpg, ''Portrait of a Woman'', 1848,
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
File:Jean-leon gerome 1848-1849 la republique.jpg, ''La République'', 1848–1849,
Petit Palais The Petit Palais (; en, Small Palace) is an art museum in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Built for the 1900 Exposition Universelle ("universal exhibition"), it now houses the City of Paris Museum of Fine Arts (''Musée des beaux-arts ...
, Paris File:Jean-Léon Gérôme-portrait of a Lady-1849.jpg, ''Portrait of a Lady'', 1849, Musée Ingres File:Gerome-Michelangelo-Belvedere Torso-1849-Dahesh.jpg, ''Michelangelo Being Shown the Belvedere Torso'', 1849,
Dahesh Museum of Art The Dahesh Museum of Art is the only museum in the United States devoted to the collection and exhibition of European academic art of the 19th and 20th century. The collection, located in Manhattan, New York City, originated with Lebanese writer ...
File:Grecian-Interior,-Le-Gynecee-large.jpg, ''Greek Interior'', 1850 File:Une ame emportée par un ange - Gerome.jpg, ''A Soul Carried Away by an Angel'', 1853, Musée Georges-Garret,
Vesoul Vesoul () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté located in eastern France. It is the most populated municipality of the department with inhabitants in 2014. The same year, the Communauté d'agglo ...
File:Gerome - An Idyll, 1852.jpg, ''An Idyll (Daphnis and Chloe)'', 1858, Musée Massey File:Gérôme, Achat d'une esclave, 1857 (5613508015).jpg, ''Buying a Slave'', 1857; provenance discussed by Sarah Lees File:Jean-Leon_Gerome_-_Egyptian_Recruits_Crossing_the_Desert.jpg, ''Egyptian Recruits Crossing the Desert'', 1857 File:Jean-Léon Gérôme - The Duel After the Masquerade - Walters 3751.jpg, ''
The Duel After the Masquerade ''The Duel After the Masquerade'' is a painting by the French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme, of which multiple copies exist. The original, ''Suite d'un bal masqué'', first shown in 1857, is in the Musée Condé in Chantilly, France. History Gér ...
'', version of 1859,
Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...
File:Jean-Léon Gérôme - El rey Candaules.jpg, ''King Candaules'', 1859,
Museo de Arte de Ponce Museo de Arte de Ponce (MAP) is an art museum located on Avenida Las Américas in Ponce, Puerto Rico.Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico Tourism Company. Ven al Sur, page 20. San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2003. It houses a collection of European ...
File:Gerome - Diogenes.jpg, ''Diogenes'', 1860,
Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...
File:AspasiaAlcibiades.jpg, ''Socrates Seeking Alcibiades in the House of Aspasia'', 1861 File:Jean-Léon Gérôme - The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer - Walters 37113.jpg, ''The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer'', 1863,
Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...
File:Jean-Léon Gérôme 002.jpg, '' Napoleon in Egypt'', c. 1863,
Princeton University Art Museum The Princeton University Art Museum (PUAM) is the Princeton University gallery of art, located in Princeton, New Jersey. With a collecting history that began in 1755, the museum was formally established in 1882, and now houses over 113,000 works o ...
File:Jean-Léon Gérôme - Young Greeks in the Mosque - 62.85 - Minneapolis Institute of Arts.jpg, ''Young Greeks at the Mosque'', 1865,
Minneapolis Institute of Art The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United State ...
File:Jean-leon gerome arnaut fumant.jpg, ''
Arnaut Arnaut ( ota, ارناود) is a Turkish ethnonym used to denote Albanians. ''Arvanid'' (), ''Arnavud'' (), plural: ''Arnavudlar'' (): modern Turkish: ''Arnavut'', plural: ''Arnavutlar''; are ethnonyms used mainly by Ottoman and contempora ...
Smoking'', 1865 File:Prayer in Cairo 1865.jpg, ''Prayer in Cairo'', 1865 File:Jean-Léon Gérôme, Hasaneyn Camii Önünde İsyankar Beylerin Başları.jpg, ''Heads of the Rebel Beys at the Mosque of El Hasanein, Cairo'', 1866 File:Jean-Léon Gerôme, The Muezzin, 1866, Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha.jpg, ''The Muezzin'', 1866,
Joslyn Art Museum The Joslyn Art Museum is the principal fine arts museum in the state of Nebraska, United States. Located in Omaha, it was opened in 1931 at the initiative of Sarah H. Joslyn in memory of her husband, businessman George A. Joslyn. It is the only m ...
File:Cleopatra_and_Caesar_by_Jean-Leon-Gerome.jpg, '' Cleopatra and Caesar'', 1866, private collection File:Jean-Léon Gérôme - On the Desert - Walters 3734.jpg, ''On the Desert'', before 1867,
Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...
File:Jean-Léon_Gérôme_Consummatum_est.jpg, ''Golgotha ("It is Finished")'' aka ''Jerusalem'', 1867, Musée d'Orsay File:Gerome--Haggin--Horse-Market.jpg, ''The Horse Market'', 1867,
Haggin Museum The Haggin Museum is an art museum and local history museum in Stockton, San Joaquin County, California, located in the city's Victory Park. The museum opened in 1931. Its art collection includes works by European painters Jean Béraud, Rosa Bo ...
File:Jean-Léon Gérôme - The Death of Caesar - Walters 37884.jpg, '' The Death of Caesar'', 1867,
Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...
File:Gérôme--Execution_of_Marshall_Ney--1868--Sheffield.jpg, ''The Execution of Marshal Ney'', 1868,
Graves Art Gallery Graves Art Gallery is an art gallery in Sheffield, England. The gallery is located above the Central Library in Sheffield city centre. It houses permanent displays from the city’s historic and contemporary collection of British and European ar ...
File:Jean-Léon Gérôme - Bashi-Bazouk - 2014.435.1 - Metropolitan Museum of Art.jpg, ''Bashi-Bazouk'', 1868–1869,
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
File:Gérôme-Black Bashi-Bazouk-c. 1869.jpg, ''
Bashi-Bazouk A bashi-bazouk ( ota, باشی بوزوق , , , roughly "leaderless" or "disorderly") was an irregular soldier of the Ottoman army, raised in times of war. The army chiefly recruited Albanians and Circassians as bashi-bazouks, but recruits ...
'', 1869,
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
File:Gérôme--Riders Crossing the Desert--1870--private collection.jpg, ''Riders Crossing the Desert'', 1870, private collection File:Gérôme--The Harem in the Kiosk--c-1870-1875--private collection.jpg, ''The Harem in the Kiosk'', c. 1870–1875, private collection File:Prayer in the Mosque.jpg, '' Prayer in the Mosque'', 1871,
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
File:Jean-Léon Gérôme - The Slave Market - Google Art Project.jpg, '' The Slave Market'', 1871,
Cincinnati Art Museum The Cincinnati Art Museum is an art museum in the Eden Park neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1881, it was the first purpose-built art museum west of the Alleghenies, and is one of the oldest in the United States. Its collection of ov ...
File:HaremPool.jpg, ''Pool in a Harem'', 1876,
Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the largest ...
File:Gérôme--Femme circassienne voilée--Veiled Circassian Beauty--1876.jpg, ''Femme circassienne voilée'', 1876, Qatar Museums Authority File:Gerome--Haggin--Unfolding-the-Holy-Flag.jpg, ''The Standing Bearer, Unfolding the Holy Flag'', 1876,
Haggin Museum The Haggin Museum is an art museum and local history museum in Stockton, San Joaquin County, California, located in the city's Victory Park. The museum opened in 1931. Its art collection includes works by European painters Jean Béraud, Rosa Bo ...
File:Jean_Léon_Gérôme_-_Chariot_Race_-_1983.380_-_Art_Institute_of_Chicago.jpg, ''Chariot Race'', 1876,
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
File:Réception du Grand Condé à Versailles (Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1878).png, ''Reception of Le Grand Condé at
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
'', 1878, Musée d'Orsay File:Gerome The Gladiators bronze 1878--photogravure Goupil c1892.jpg, ''The Gladiators'', bronze, 1878, photogravure Goupil c. 1892 File:Jean-Léon_Gérôme_-_Le_charmeur_de_serpents.jpg, ''
The Snake Charmer ''The Snake Charmer'' is an oil-on-canvas Orientalist painting by French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme produced around 1879. After it was used on the cover of Edward Said's book ''Orientalism'' in 1978, the work "attained a level of notoriety matche ...
'', c. 1879,
Clark Art Institute The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, commonly referred to as the Clark, is an art museum and research institution located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. Its collection consists of European and American paintings, sculp ...
File:J.L. Gerome - The Wailing Wall - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Wailing Wall'', 1880, Israel Museum File:Gérôme - Cave Canem.jpg, ''Cave Canem'', 1881, Musée Georges-Garret File:Arnaut and his dog by Jean Leon gerome.jpg, ''
Arnaut Arnaut ( ota, ارناود) is a Turkish ethnonym used to denote Albanians. ''Arvanid'' (), ''Arnavud'' (), plural: ''Arnavudlar'' (): modern Turkish: ''Arnavut'', plural: ''Arnavutlar''; are ethnonyms used mainly by Ottoman and contempora ...
Blowing Smoke in His Dog's Nose'', 1882, private collection File:Jean-Léon Gérôme - The Tulip Folly - Walters 372612.jpg, '' The Tulip Folly'', 1882,
Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...
File:Jean-Léon Gerôme, The Grief of the Pasha, 1882, Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha.jpg, ''The Grief of the Pasha'', 1882,
Joslyn Art Museum The Joslyn Art Museum is the principal fine arts museum in the state of Nebraska, United States. Located in Omaha, it was opened in 1931 at the initiative of Sarah H. Joslyn in memory of her husband, businessman George A. Joslyn. It is the only m ...
File:Gerome--Haggin--Saddle-Bazaar.jpg, ''The Saddle Bazaar, Cairo'', 1883,
Haggin Museum The Haggin Museum is an art museum and local history museum in Stockton, San Joaquin County, California, located in the city's Victory Park. The museum opened in 1931. Its art collection includes works by European painters Jean Béraud, Rosa Bo ...
File:Gérôme, The Two Majesties 1883.jpg, ''The Two Majesties'', 1883,
Milwaukee Art Museum The Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) is an art museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its collection contains nearly 25,000 works of art. Location and Visit Located on the lakefront of Lake Michigan, the Milwaukee Art Museum is one of the largest art museu ...
File:Jean-Léon Gérôme - Slave Market in Rome - WGA8652.jpg, ''Slave Market in Ancient Rome'', c. 1884,
Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the largest ...
File:Jean Leon Gerome Selling Slaves in Rome.jpg, ''A Roman Slave Market'', c. 1884,
Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...
File:Jean-Léon Gérome - Le bain (1880-85).jpg, ''The Bath'', 1880–1885, Legion of Honor, San Francisco File:Jean-Léon Gérôme 007.jpg, ''The Large Pool of
Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...
'', 1885, private collection File:Bonaparte ante la Esfinge, por Jean-Léon Gérôme.jpg, '' Bonaparte Before the Sphinx'', aka ''Œdipe'', 1886,
Hearst Castle Hearst Castle, known formally as La Cuesta Encantada ( Spanish for "The Enchanted Hill"), is a historic estate in San Simeon, located on the Central Coast of California. Conceived by William Randolph Hearst, the publishing tycoon, and his arch ...
File:The end of the pose, by Jean-Léon Gérôme.jpg, ''La fin de séance (The End of the Session)'', 1886, private collection File:Jean-Léon Gérôme 015 Carpets.jpg, ''The Carpet Merchant'', c. 1887,
Minneapolis Institute of Art The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United State ...
File:Jean-Léon Gérôme - Tiger on the Watch - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Tiger on the Watch'', c. 1888, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston File:Gerome_venus.jpg, ''
The Birth of Venus ''The Birth of Venus'' ( it, Nascita di Venere ) is a painting by the Italian artist Sandro Botticelli, probably executed in the mid 1480s. It depicts the goddess Venus arriving at the shore after her birth, when she had emerged from the sea ...
'', 1890, private collection File:Jean-Léon Gérôme--La Danse pyrrhique--sothebys--2020.jpg, t''La Danse Pyrrhique'', c. 1890, private collection File:Jean-Léon Gérôme, Pygmalion and Galatea, ca. 1890.jpg, '' Pygmalion and Galatea'', 1890,
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
File:Gerome pygmalion-galatee.jpg, '' Pygmalion and Galatea'', c. 1890 File:Gérôme - Painting Breathes Life into Sculpture v1.jpg, ''The Antique Pottery Painter: Sculpturæ vitam insufflat pictura'' (painting breathes life into sculpture), 1893,
Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; french: Musée des beaux-arts de l'Ontario) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The museum is located in the Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, on Dundas Street West between McCaul and Bev ...
File:Gérôme - Painting Breathes Life into Sculpture.jpg, ''Tanagra Workshop'', 1893, private collection File:Jean-Léon Gérôme--Hoop Dancer--before 1895--Haggin Museum--Stockton-CA.jpg, ''Hoop Dancer'', c. 1890,
Haggin Museum The Haggin Museum is an art museum and local history museum in Stockton, San Joaquin County, California, located in the city's Victory Park. The museum opened in 1931. Its art collection includes works by European painters Jean Béraud, Rosa Bo ...
, seen in his painting ''The Artist and His Model'' File:Gerome--Haggin--The-Artist-and-His-Model.jpg, ''The Artist and His Model'', 1895,
Haggin Museum The Haggin Museum is an art museum and local history museum in Stockton, San Joaquin County, California, located in the city's Victory Park. The museum opened in 1931. Its art collection includes works by European painters Jean Béraud, Rosa Bo ...
; Gérôme depicts himself sculpting ''Tanagra'' File:Gerome Sarah Bernhardt Musee d'Orsay.jpg, ''
Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including '' La Dame Aux Camel ...
'', marble, c. 1895, Musée d'Orsay File:Leda and the Swan by Jean-Leon Gerome.jpg, ''
Leda and the Swan Leda and the Swan is a story and subject in art from Greek mythology in which the god Zeus, in the form of a swan, seduces or rapes Leda. According to later Greek mythology, Leda bore Helen and Polydeuces, children of Zeus, while at the sa ...
'', 1895 File:Gerome_Veritas_1895.jpg, ''Mendacibus et histrionibus occisa in puteo jacet alma Veritas'', 1895, location unknown File:Gérôme - La Vérité au fond d'un puits.jpg, ''Truth at the Bottom of a Well'', study for a painting of 1895, Musée Georges-Garret,
Vesoul Vesoul () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté located in eastern France. It is the most populated municipality of the department with inhabitants in 2014. The same year, the Communauté d'agglo ...
File:Gerome_verite_lyon.jpg, ''Truth Is at the Bottom of the Well'', 1895,
Musée des beaux-arts de Lyon The Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon (french: Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon) is a municipal museum of fine arts in the French city of Lyon. Located near the Place des Terreaux, it is housed in a former Benedictine convent which was active during the 1 ...
File:EB1911 Plate VII. v24, pg.508, Fig 6.jpg, ''Bonaparte Entering Cairo'', 1897 File:Gérôme - L'entrée du Christ à Jérusalem - cadre.jpg, ''Entry of the Christ at Jerusalem'', 1897, Musée Georges-Garret,
Vesoul Vesoul () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté located in eastern France. It is the most populated municipality of the department with inhabitants in 2014. The same year, the Communauté d'agglo ...
File:Jean-Léon Gérôme, The Story of Anacreon 1--Cupid at the Door in a Rainstorm, c 1899.jpg, ''The Story of Anacreon 1: Cupid at the Door in a Rainstorm'', c. 1899, private collection File:Jean-Léon Gérôme, The Story of Anacreon 2--Young Love's Shivering Limbs the Embers Warm, c 1899.jpg, ''The Story of Anacreon 2: Young Love's Shivering Limbs the Embers Warm'', c. 1899, private collection File:Jean-Léon Gérôme, The Story of Anacreon 3--Cupid Runs out the Door, c1899.jpg, ''The Story of Anacreon 3: Cupid Runs out the Door'', c. 1899, private collection File:Jean-Léon Gérôme, The Story of Anacreon 4--The Poet Dreams of Cupid by the Fire, c 1899.jpg, ''The Story of Anacreon 4: The Poet Dreams of Cupid by the Fire'', c. 1899, private collection File:Jean-Leon Gerome - Souvenir of Acheres (1903).jpg, ''Souvenir of Achéres'', 1903,
Columbus Museum of Art The Columbus Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Formed in 1878 as the Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts (its name until 1978), it was the first art museum to register its charter with the state of Ohio. The museum collect ...


Images of Gérôme

File:Jean-Léon Gérôme--self-portrait--c-1884--Eskenazi Museum--Bloomington.jpg, Jean-Léon Gérôme, self-portrait c. 1844,
Eskenazi Museum of Art The Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University opened in 1941 under the direction of Henry Radford Hope.Baden, Linda J. Indiana University Art Museum: Dedication. Bloomington, IN: Museum, 1982. Print. The museum was intended to be the center of ...
at
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...
File:Giraud, caricature of Jean-Léon Gérôme.jpg,
Eugène Giraud Pierre François Michelle Eugène Giraud (August 8, 1806 – December 28, 1881) was a French painter and engraver. He painted one of the best known portraits of writer Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1 ...
, caricature of Gérôme, between 1858 and 1870 File:Bingham - Jean-Léon Gérôme 01.jpg, Robert Jefferson Bingham, portrait of Gérôme, between 1860 and 1875 File:Gérôme by Carpeaux Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek MIN1493.jpg,
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (11 May 1827 – 12 October 1875) was a French sculptor and painter during the Second Empire under Napoleon III. Life Born in Valenciennes, Nord, son of a mason, his early studies were under François Rude. Carpeaux en ...
, Bust of Jean-Léon Gérôme, after 1871,
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek ("ny" means "new" in Danish; "Glyptotek" comes from the Greek root ''glyphein'', to carve, and ''theke'', storing place), commonly known simply as Glyptoteket, is an art museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. The collection ...
, Copenhagen File:Jules-Clément Chaplain--Gérôme medal--1885--Metropolitan Museum.jpg,
Jules-Clément Chaplain Jules-Clément Chaplain (12 July 1839 – 13 July 1909) was a French sculptor and one of its finest medallists. With Louis Oscar Roty (1846–1911) he helped found the Art Nouveau movement. Chaplain was born in Mortagne-au-Perche, Orne, and ...
, Jean-Léon Gérôme medal, 1885,
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
File:Jean-Léon Gérôme - Self-Portrait - WGA08651.jpg, ''Self-portrait'', 1886,
Aberdeen Art Gallery Aberdeen Art Gallery is the main visual arts exhibition space in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1884 in a building designed by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, with a sculpture court added in 1905. In 1900, it received the art ...
File:Cormon - Le Sculpteur au travail.jpg,
Fernand Cormon Fernand Cormon (24 December 1845 – 20 March 1924) was a French painter born in Paris. He became a pupil of Alexandre Cabanel, Eugène Fromentin, and Jean-François Portaels, and one of the leading historical painters of modern France. Biogra ...
, ''The Sculptor at Work'', 1891, Musée Georges-Garret,
Vesoul Vesoul () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté located in eastern France. It is the most populated municipality of the department with inhabitants in 2014. The same year, the Communauté d'agglo ...
File:Léopold Bernstamm - J.L. Gérôme polychromant Tanagra.jpg, Léopold Bernhard Bernstamm, Gérome painting a hoop dancer, 1897, Musée Georges-Garret,
Vesoul Vesoul () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté located in eastern France. It is the most populated municipality of the department with inhabitants in 2014. The same year, the Communauté d'agglo ...
File:Self-portrait-painting-the-ball-player jean-leon-gerome.jpg, Self-portrait, painting ''The Ball Player'', 1902, Musée Georges-Garret,
Vesoul Vesoul () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté located in eastern France. It is the most populated municipality of the department with inhabitants in 2014. The same year, the Communauté d'agglo ...
File:Aimé Morot - Tête de Jean-Léon Gérôme.jpg, Aimé Morot, bronze head of Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1909, Musée Georges-Garret,
Vesoul Vesoul () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté located in eastern France. It is the most populated municipality of the department with inhabitants in 2014. The same year, the Communauté d'agglo ...


See also

*
List of Orientalist artists This is an incomplete list of artists who have produced works on Orientalist subjects, drawn from the Islamic world or other parts of Asia. Many artists listed on this page worked in many genres, and Orientalist subjects may not have formed a m ...
*
List of pupils of Jean-Léon Gérôme This is an incomplete list of the pupils of Jean-Léon Gérôme. *Laureano Barrau * Henri Beau *Osman Hamdi Bey *Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret * Georges Ferdinand Bigot * Frederick Arthur Bridgman * George de Forest Brush *Edwin Lord Weeks *George Bridg ...
*
Société des Peintres Orientalistes Français The Société des Peintres Orientalistes Français (; " Orientalist French Painters Society") was an art society founded in 1893 to promote not only Orientalism but also the travel of French artists in the Far East. Formation and early history F ...
(Society of French Orientalist Painters)


References and sources


References


Sources

* * * *Bayard, Émile; preface by Jean Léon Gérôme. ''Le Nu Esthétique''. Paris: Bernard, 1902. * *Benezit E. - ''Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs'' - Librairie Gründ, Paris, 1976; (in French) *
Laurence des Cars Laurence des Cars (born Laurence Élisabeth de Pérusse des Cars on 13 June 1966) is a French general curator of heritage and art historian, since September 2021 Director of the Louvre Museum after having headed the Musée d'Orsay and Musée de ...
, Dominque de Font-Rélaux and Édouard Papet (ed.), ''The Spectacular Art of Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904)'', Getty Museum and Musée d'Orsay, 2010. *Chisholm, Hugh, ed. "Gérôme, Jean Léon," ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' (11th ed.). Cambridge University, 1901. *Garvey, Dana M
''Edwin Lord Weeks: An American Artist in North Africa and South Asia''
dissertation, University of Washington, 2013. *Gérôme, Jean-Léon (1903). Preface t
''Charles Jalabert: l'homme, l'artiste, d'après sa correspondance''
by Émile Reinaud. Paris: Hachette, 1903, pp. 5–7. *Hering, Fanny Field; introduction by Augustus St. Gaudens
''Gérôme: The Life and Works of Jean-Léon Gérôme''.
New York, Cassell Publishing Company, 1892. *Lees, Sarah. 2012. "Jean-Léon Gérôme: Slave Market". In ''Nineteenth-century European Paintings at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute'', edited by S. Lees. 359–363. Williamstown, Mass: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. * *Moreau-Vauthier, Charles. ''Gérôme: peintre et sculpteur'' (in French). Hachette, 1906. *Nochlin, Linda. 1983. "The Imaginary Orient". ''Art in America'' 71(5): 118–31, 187–91. *O'Sullivan N. ''Aloysius O'Kelly: Art, Nation, Empire'', Field Day Publications, 2010. *Scott C. Allan and Mary Morton (ed.), Reconsidering Gérôme, Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2010, in: ''Art Bulletin'' 94 (2012), No. 2, pp. 312–316 *Toledano, Ehud R. 1998. ''Slavery and Abolition in the Ottoman Middle East''. Seattle/London: University of Washington Press. *Turner, J. – ''
Grove Dictionary of Art ''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...
'' – Oxford University Press, USA; new edition (January 2, 1996); *


External links


Eight portraits of Gérôme at various ages
at the Bibliothèque Municipale de Besançon

The museum in Gérôme's hometown displays many of his paintings and sculptures
Jean-Léon Gérôme-Biography and Legacy
at www.theartstory.org
Fin de partie: A Group of Self-Portraits by Jean-Léon Gérôme
by Susan Waller

press kit for the 2012 exhibit at the Musée Anne-de-Beaujeu (in French)
Jean-Léon Gérôme/Art Renewal Center
Over 350 Gerome images, list of students with examples of work, biography, and letters
www.jeanleongerome.org
nearly 300 images by the artist * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerome, Jean-Leon 1824 births 1904 deaths People from Vesoul 19th-century French painters French male painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century male artists Academic art Members of the Académie des beaux-arts Burials at Montmartre Cemetery Orientalist painters Neo-Pompeian painters 20th-century French sculptors 19th-century French sculptors French male sculptors Members of the Ligue de la patrie française Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Honorary Members of the Royal Academy