Anne-Louis Girodet de Roucy-Trioson enrolled in the school of David in 1783 to study painting on the advice of his architecture instructor. He worked alongside other young artists who were also taught in David's neoclassical style. Girodet's early works display the influence of David in the linear and sculptural quality of his figures.

After three consecutive years of competing for the Prix de Rome, he finally won at his fourth effort in 1789. Later that year the Revolution broke out in France and Girodet made numerous drawings of the fall of the Bastille. In 1790 he left for Italy where he stayed for five years. During that time his style changed and softened under the influence of the works of Leonardo and Correggio.

Girodet de Roucy-Trioson strove to be unique and original in his depictions and even went to great lengths to oppose David's neoclassicism. His new interest in atmospheric and light effects differed from that of his teacher. He made a name for himself at the Salon of 1793, with his submission of Sleep of Endymion, currently housed in the Louvre. I have created a reproduction of this masterpiece that I offer in my online store.

The Sleep of Endymion

After his return to Paris from Italy, Girodet became known as a portrait painter and accepted numerous commissions, but many of them were either late in delivery or never completed. Girodet's tendency to interpret commissions to prove his own originality often offended and alienated his patrons. He did not find official success at the Salon again until 1808 and produced little after 1815.