The Young Man and Death

1841–1857 · Wirkungsort

Paris

10 October 1856

Chassériau’s funeral: Delacroix notices Moreau

After a few short weeks of declining health Chassériau died at the age of 37, a loss that deeply affected Moreau. At the funeral procession on 10 October 1856 Delacroix noted in his journal that he had seen “the young Moreau” there and quite liked him.

1857

Leaves for Italy after Chassériau’s death

Chassériau’s death made Moreau withdraw from public life in his grief; concerned about his condition, his parents suggested a trip to Italy. In October 1857 he left Paris with his friend the artist Frédéric Charlot de Courcy, sailing from Marseille to Civitavecchia and on to Rome.

1857–1858

The Villa Medici: friends and a young Degas

At the Villa Medici Moreau could work from live models and made friends among the Parisians studying in Italy, including Élie Delaunay, Henri Chapu, Émile Lévy and Georges Bizet. He also met a young Edgar Degas, for whom he became something of a mentor in Italy.

Oktober 1857 – Juni 1858 · Wirkungsort

Rome

1864

A Salon medal for “Oedipus and the Sphinx”

“Oedipus and the Sphinx”, one of Moreau’s first Symbolist paintings, won a medal at the Paris Salon of 1864 and established his reputation. One commentator likened it to a pastiche of Mantegna created by a German student who relaxes from his painting by reading Schopenhauer.