Biography

One of the most successful French painters of his period. He won the Prix de Rome in 1797, and his later successes included becoming director of the French Academy in Rome in 1822 and being created a baron in 1829. His style was derived mainly from David, but his scenes from classical history and mythology are less severe and more stagey. As the teacher of Géricault and Delacroix amongst others, he was an important figure in the transition from Neoclassicism to Romanticism. He laid particular emphasis on the painted sketch and as a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts, he was instrumental in establishing a sketch competition as a preliminary to the Prix de Rome.