Carpet Merchants, JL Gerome Veiled Circassian Lady, J.L. Gerome Cleopatra Before the Beheading, J.L. Gerome Bathing Pool, J.L. Gerome Moorish Bath, J.L. Gerome An Arab Encampment, J.L. Gerome

For several years now my favorite artist is Jean Leon Gerome. He is a fairly popular artist, and many of you will have seen some of his paintings before, such as the gladiatorial fighting one, or the Cleopatra Before the Beheading as depicted to the left. I have long been a fan of his, not just for those paintings, but my favorites.. his depictions of Arab Life. He is one of the most prolific artists of the Eastern tradition.. western artists painting in the Middle east. He also has many paintings of French topics, ancient Roman studies and even a few of Japanese rituals. Some of my favorites of his are his many depictions of women in bathing pools. I have a theory of this in fact (I am filled with theories, as any of my friends can tell you). In all his depictions of women bathing nude and other harem styles, none aside from the one Veiled Circassian lady (depicted left) has any real resemblance to an Eastern woman. Since at that time (and now, in fact though more so then) the women were all covered, and no amount of friendship to an Arab Sheikh would have entitled him to being allowed into the Harem quarters or for their women to be used as models. To this day, in many Middle Eastern Countries, it is illegal to portray women in art, photos or anything. Yemen in fact will confiscate your camera if it is believed to hold negatives of women. (abbreviated)Biography: Jean-Léon Gérôme was born in Vesoul and was the first son of Pierre Gérôme and his wife Claude Françoise Mélanie Vuillemot. At school in Vesoul he had much academic success from an early age, including recieving a prize for painting, having commenced painting lessons when aged 14 after five years of drawing classes with his drawing master Claude-Basile Cariage. His schooling complete, in 1840 at the age of 16, he set out for Paris with a letter of introduction to Paul Delaroche. Encouraged by Delaroche, he offered a drawing to the Magasin Pittoresque and had it accepted. Thereafter he became a regular contributor. He supplemented his allowance further by, together with his friends, mass-producing sets of 'stations of the cross' to be sold in the religious shops. In his third year of studies, returning from a vacation in Vesoul, he learned of the closure of Delaroche's atelier: Delaroche was in depression following the death of his wife, Louise, the daughter of Horace Vernet, and also that of one of his students following a duelling incident. Gérôme found his teacher setting off for Rome and asked to accompany him. He was later to refer to his year in Rome as the happiest and best time of his life. In Italy, he spent much time studying the antiquities, which formed the basis for many of his later motifs, and it was in the Naples museum that he encountered the famous gladiatoral armour from Pompeii that was to inspire his gladiatorial scenes. However, his stay in Italy was cut short by a bout of typhoid fever. Returning to Paris in the autumn of 1844, he entered the atelier of the famous Swiss painter and teacher Charles Gleyre (1806-1874) who had more or less taken over from Delaroche. His students became known as the Pompeïstes or Neo-grecs and Gérôme became known as the leader of this small group. It is believed that Gleyre's enthusiasm for the Near East influenced Gerome's own enthusiasm - an area which was ultimately to become Gérôme's destiny. When Delaroche returned to Paris from Rome, summoned to work on an important commission, Gérôme left Gleyre's studio to become his assistant and he stayed for almost a year. Soon his work was praised by the well-known poet and critic Théophile Gautier. His review made Gérôme famous and effectively launched his career. In 1881, Gérôme married Marie Goupil, and soon after purchasing bought a house at 6, Rue de Brussels. In 1864, Gérôme was appointed as professor of his own atelier. Between this time and his death in January of 1904, he produces numerous oil paintings and scultpures in Bronze and Marble, travelled extensively through Turkey, Spain, Egypt and Algeirs among others and became involved in many movements and movement oppositions, key of which is the Impressionist Movement, which he adamantly opposed. At his death he was found dead at the foot of his own painting, The Truth, and was buried in the Montmartre Cemetary in front of the statue of Sorrow he had cast in memory of his son Jean. Parts of this biography courtesy of MezzoMondo Orientalists Biographies, and main ref: "Jean-Léon Gérôme - His Life, His Work 1824-1904", Gerald M Ackerman, ACR Edition, 1997. A fantastic source of images for J. L. Gerome, including many high resolution images, can be found at the Art Renewal Museum.