The Cock Fight, Jean-Leon Gerome, 1846

It is also known as Young Greeks Attending a Cock Fight (Jeunes Grecs faisant battre des coqs). It is an example of the Neo-Grec style. It was one of Gérôme's first successes.

Jean-Léon Gérôme was born at Vesoul, Haute-Saône. He went to Paris in 1840 where he studied under Paul Delaroche, whom he accompanied to Italy in 1843. He visited Florence, Rome, the Vatican and Pompeii. On his return to Paris in 1844, like many students of Delaroche, he joined the atelier of Charles Gleyre and studied there for a brief time. He then attended the École des Beaux-Arts. In 1846 he tried to enter the prestigious Prix de Rome, but failed in the final stage because his figure drawing was inadequate.