Jean-Léon Gérôme
Jean-Léon Gérôme was a very successful French artist who lived from 1824 to 1904 and who was associated with the Academic art style. His genres ranged from historical paintings to Orientalism to Greek mythology. Gérôme is remembered as one of the most important artists of the Academic painting tradition, not only in regard to painting, but with teaching as well.
Jean-Léon Gérôme was born in Vesoul in eastern France. In 1840, at 16 years old, he moved to Paris and began studying art under the French historical painter, Paul Delaroche. Between 1843 and 1844, Gérôme accompanied Delaroche on a trip to Italy to study the old masters though a fever forced him to return home early. After studying in the workshop of the Swiss artist, Charles Gleyre, Gérôme attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts.
In 1846, Gérôme applied for the prestigious scholarship of the Prix de Rome which would have paid his way to study in Rome, Italy, but was not selected. However, the following year, in 1847, Gérôme was selected for the Paris Salon where he was awarded a medal. This marked the beginning of a very successful period for Gérôme, where he won several prestigious art awards and made a name for himself. Gérôme’s new-found success gained him some valuable commission requests and relationships, a boon for artists just starting off. He worked on continuous commission pieces for the next few decades, such as for the court of Napoleon III and for the Chapel of St. Jerome in the church of St. Séverin in Paris.
In 1856, Gérôme visited Egypt for the first time and gained a whole new plethora of inspiration and material for future works. Here, his work shifted from Classical in nature to the Orientalism style that was in vogue at the time. During his travels, he would make oil sketches of scenes and colors of not only subjects, but also the backgrounds and scenery that he would use in his paintings.
Gérôme’s reputation increased with memberships in the Institut de France, Légion d’honneur, and the British Royal Academy. He began teaching at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts where he tutored such famous artists such as Aristide Maillol, Frederick Arthur Bridgman, and Julius LeBlanc Stewart. In 1864, he taught one class to the Symbolist artist, Odilon Redon. Gérôme was so respected, he was invited with a few other select artists to witness the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.
When Impressionism first came out in the 1870s-80s, Gérôme spoke out against its “decadent fashion,” but after seeing Édouard Manet‘s exhibition in 1884, he admitted that “it was not so bad as I thought”. He was also interested in the rising field of photography, stating “Thanks to photography, Truth has at last left her well”.
Jean-Léon Gérôme died in 1904 at 79 years of age. He was found in his studio in front of his painting, “Truth Coming Out of Her Well”, and following his request, was given a simple burial in the Montmartre Cemetery.
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