Bacchanale

1841–1857 · Workplace

Paris

1846–1849 · Education

Beaux-Arts de Paris

1848–1849

Failure at the Prix de Rome and departure from the École

Moreau had grand aspirations of winning the Grand Prix de Rome, but when he failed to make the final rounds in 1848 and 1849 he left the École des Beaux-Arts prematurely. His style soon drifted away from the academy’s, though the basics of Beaux-Arts methods and his commitment to history painting stayed with him for life.

early 1850s

Friendship and mentorship with Théodore Chassériau

In the early 1850s Moreau developed a close friendship and mentorship with Théodore Chassériau, seven years his senior and a neighbour: he rented a studio near Chassériau’s and soon followed his example, becoming something of a dapper man about town, attending the opera and theatre and even singing at social gatherings.

1852

Salon debut: the state buys his “Pietà”

In 1852 Moreau took part in the Paris Salon for the first time, presenting a Pietà that the state bought for 600 francs. From the 1850s he exhibited with some regularity and, with his father’s help, secured commissions from the city.

1852–1853

The townhouse at 14 rue de la Rochefoucauld

His father bought a townhouse at 14 rue de la Rochefoucauld and converted the top floor into a studio for Gustave. Moreau lived and worked there, a bachelor, for the rest of his life; the house later became his museum.