SUITES D'UN BAL MASQUE

1855

The 1855 fair: “The Age of Augustus” and “Recreation in a Russian Camp”

Critics met the huge canvas “The Age of Augustus” (6.2 × 10.15 m) without enthusiasm: they were angered by the belittling of the Nativity and the exaltation of the emperor, and only Gautier left a wholly positive review. The most attention went to the modest “Recreation in a Russian Camp”, painted in a realist spirit; Gérôme was made a knight of the Legion of Honour.

1856

Four months in Egypt with Bartholdi

In 1856 Gérôme spent four months in Egypt with the playwright Augier, the sculptor Bartholdi and other artists; the party hired a boat with cabins. Bartholdi brought a camera and infected Gérôme with his enthusiasm for photography, and from then on Gérôme constantly used photographs as a source of detail for his canvases.

1857

The 1857 Salon: Egyptian subjects and “The Duel”

Paintings inspired by the Egyptian trip — “Egyptian Recruits”, “Camels Watering” — and the puzzling “The Duel after the Masquerade” enhanced Gérôme’s reputation. Capitalising on the success of the “Duel”, he made two copies himself: one for Alexander II (now in the Hermitage) and one for reproduction in print (Walters Art Museum).

1859

The 1859 Salon: “Ave Caesar” and “King Candaules”

Gérôme showed both Egyptian and ancient subjects: he himself thought “Ave Caesar” a failure and later admitted it was full of archaeological inaccuracies, while the erotic “King Candaules” made him popular with lovers of history and connoisseurs of the nude alike. Hoping to capitalise on the success, he petitioned for a professorship at the École des Beaux-Arts but never received a reply.