19th-century French painter, Théodore Géricault studied in the workshop of painter Carle Vernet, a specialist in hunting scenes. There he met his son, Horace Vernet. He then studied with Pierre-Narcisse Guérin before enrolling, on February 5, 1811, at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1814, Géricault fell in love with Alexandrine Caruel, the young wife of Jean-Baptiste Caruel de Saint-Martin, his maternal uncle. From this liaison, which lasted several years and proved disastrous for the artist, a son, Hippolyte Georges, was born. Having failed the competition for the Grand Prix de Rome, Géricault decided, in 1816, to leave for Italy at his own expense. He was lastingly impressed by the painters of the Italian Renaissance, especially Michelangelo, as well as by Peter Paul Rubens, for the movement he gave to his works. Among his contemporaries, he had a particular admiration for Antoine-Jean Gros.