On receiving the Prix de Rome in 1810, he left for Italy, and thence traveled to Greece, Syria, and Egypt, returning to Paris about 1820 with a large collection of fabrics, costumes, and curios. Here he communicated his enthusiasm for the Orient to a group of painters and writers among whom were Jean Géricault,Gericault, Ferdinand Delacroix, and Prosper Mérimée.Merimee.
Background
Through modesty or indifference he attached little importance to his own works, and, after his death in Paris, Apr. 15, 1850, was nearly forgotten until 1930, when an exhibition in the Paris Orangerie brought to light his Oriental pastels and reinstated him in his true significance.