Artist. A prolific French history and neoclassical painter, he is remembered for his battle scenes and portraits of notable European nobility and military figures. Born Antoine-Jean Gros in Paris, France, his father was a miniature painter. He displayed artistic talent at an early age and in 1785 he studied under the tutelage of French artist Jacques-Louis David and also at the College Mazarin in Paris. After the French Revolution broke out in 1792, he left for Genoa, Italy where he met Josephine de Beauharnais, the future wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. In November 1796 he was with the French Army at the Battle of Arcole, Italy when Napoleon planted the French tricolor on the bridge leading to the city, and he painted the scene. Napoleon was impressed with his work and as a reward he gave him the job of inspector of reviews, which allowed him to travel with the French Army. In 1799 he left Genoa and returned to Paris and painted “The Battle of Nazareth” (1801), “Napoleon Visiting the Plague Victims of Jaffa’ (1804), followed by “The Battle of Aboukir” (1806), “The Battle of Eylau” (1808), “The Battle of the Pyramids” (1810), and “Napoleon Accepts the Surrender of Madrid, 4 December 1808” (1810). In 1808 Napoleon bestowed on him the title “Baron of the Empire.” In 1811 he began decorating the dome of St. Genevieve at the Pantheon in Paris which was finally completed in 1824. His artistic talents began to decline in his later years and his final work was “Hercules and Diomedes” (1835). He was found drowned at the age of 64 on the banks of the Seine River in the Paris suburb of Meudon. A note found in his hat indicated that he had committed suicide. Many of his paintings are currently on display at the Palace of Versailles, the Musee des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, and The Louvre, as well as other prominent museums and art galleries. (bio by: William Bjornstad)