Jean-Léon Gérôme

Born in Vesoul, France, in 1824, Jean-Léon Gérôme quickly established himself as a prodigious talent, studying under Paul Delaroche and Charles Gleyre in Paris. His early work, like *The Cock Fight* (1846), which earned him a third-class medal at the Paris Salon, epitomized the Neo-Grec movement and launched his career. This success led to significant commissions, including a large mural, *The Age of Augustus, the Birth of Christ* (1855), which may have been intended to flat…