The Bath, ca. 1880-1885

© Jean-Léon Gerome

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About the Artist

Jean-Léon Gerome (born May 11, 1824, Vesoul, France — died Jan. 10, 1904, Paris) was a French painter, sculptor, and teacher. Son of a goldsmith, he studied in Paris and painted melodramatic and often erotic historical and mythological compositions, excelling as a draftsman in the linear style of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. His best-known works are scenes inspired by several visits to Egypt. In his later years he produced mostly sculpture. He exerted much influence as a teacher at the École des Beaux-Arts; his pupils included Odilon Redon and Thomas Eakins. A staunch defender of the academic tradition, he tried in 1893 to block the government's acceptance of the Impressionist works bequeathed by Gustave Caillebotte.