Despite the discouragement of his goldsmith father, Jean-Léon Gérôme spent a trial period in the studio of a Parisian artist. There he struggled, painting religious cards and selling them on the steps of churches in order to survive. After a few years, he left for Italy. In the late 1840s the French government gave Gérôme a monumental commission to paint the massive *Age of Augustus.* In preparati
