A rare and very unusual portrait of the famous French painter and sculptor Jean-Léon Gérôme. He made the "L'Aigle Blessé" monument for the fallen French soldiers in Waterloo.

His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880." The range of his oeuvre included historical painting, Greek mythology, Orientalism, portraits, and other subjects, bringing the academic painting tradition to an artistic climax. He is considered one of the most important painters from this academic period.

Albumen print on cardboard, CdV size. Signed in fountain pen in the picture by J-L Gérôme.