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).
1863
Marries the daughter of the art dealer Goupil
In 1863 Gérôme married Marie Goupil (1842–1912), daughter of the international art dealer Adolphe Goupil; they had four daughters and a son. He moved to a house in rue de Bruxelles, close to the Folies Bergère, and enlarged it into a grand house with stables, a sculpture studio below and a painting studio on the top floor.
13 November 1863
Professor at the École des Beaux-Arts
An imperial decree of 13 November 1863 stripped the Academy of the right to run the École des Beaux-Arts: three new studios and three professorships were created, one of which went to Gérôme. Starting with sixteen students, he went on in 1864–1904 to give more than two thousand students at least part of their art education.
1865
Elected to the Institut de France at the fifth attempt
Gérôme was elected to the Institut de France on his fifth attempt; in these years his influence became extensive and he was a regular guest of Empress Eugénie at the court in Compiègne.