Jean-Léon Gérôme (18-1904) was a French Classicist painter. He studied in France, Italy and the Vatican, and then worked in the studio of Charles Gleyre. His painting Cockfight won 3rd place at the exhibition in 1847. He began to acquire commissions and could travel throughout Europe and seek inspiration. In 1852, along with other artists, he painted for Napoleon III great historical works. Four years later, he travelled through North Africa and created a series of paintings with Arab religious themes and scenes - Wailing Wall. In the Netherlands, he captured soldiers trampling beds of tulips in an attempt to stabilize the tulip market in the so-called The Tulip Folly. He was promoted to an officer and elected an honorary member of the British Royal Academy. He received the Order of the Red Eagle, third class, from Prussian King Wilhelm I and was invited to the opening of the Suez Canal. On January 10th, 1904, he was found dead in his studio in front of a portrait of Rembrandt and buried in the cemetery of Montmartre.