Though his
father desired him to become a designer of ornaments for use in his
trade, the lad had higher ambitions, and desiring to study painting,
became a student at the School of Art. Notwithstanding this orthodox
training, he was a disciple of Claude Lantier and his somewhat
revolutionary band, whom he delighted by sly attacks upon his professors
and praise of themselves. He paid particular court to Claude, under
whose artistic influence he had come, and though he continued to paint
with tricky skill, he no longer talked in anything but the jargon of the
new open-air school. This did not prevent him, however, from elsewhere
making fun of the adepts of that school, whom he accused of doing
their work with a kitchen ladle. He made a success with a picture of an
actress before her glass, which caught the popular taste, and afterwards
appeared as an engraving. Taken up by Naudet, the picture-dealer, he
began to receive large prices for his work, and by doing everything in
his power to make his way in society his position soon became secure.
He was elected a member of the Hanging Committee of the _Salon_, and
secured the admission of Claude Lantier's picture _L'Enfant Mort_.
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