Gérard’s career as the most successful portraitist of the Empire is well documented, but as a pupil of David, his first ambition was to be a history painter. His background had been conservative; he had been born in Rome where his father was head of the household of the French Ambassador, the Cardinal de Bernis. When the Gérard family returned to France in 1780 François’ father entered the employment of the Bailli de Breteuil, and the young artist first joined the studio of the sculptor Pajou, then Boucher’s pupil Brenet before becoming a student of David in 1786. Gérard was beaten by Girodet for the prix de Rome of 1789, leading to some resentment on the part of the latter with rumors of underhand behavior by Girodet. Gérard entered again the following year but was forced to withdraw by the sudden death of his father, when he had to accompany his distraught mother and brothers on their return to Rome. He remained there for nearly two years, then in 1792 returned to Paris to once again advance his artistic career. Although he may not have embraced the revolution with the fervor of his master, David, he nonetheless produced a powerful revolutionary image with his drawing, intended as a preliminary sketch for a painting, The 10th August 1792 (when the Assembly deprived the King of his powers). This served to ingratiate himself with the far more radical David and won him first prize in the Concours of year II, 1794, and an award of 20,000 livres.