Antoine-Jean Gros, Baron Gros, is a French painter associated with the Neoclassicism and Pre-Romanticism movements. Towards the end of 1785, Gros willingly entered David's studio, which he assiduously frequented while continuing to attend classes at Mazarin College. The death of his father, whose property was affected by the Revolution, forced Gros in 1791 to rely on his own resources. From then on, he devoted himself entirely to his profession and participated in the grand prix in 1792, but without success. On November 15, 1796, Gros was present with the army near Arcole, where Bonaparte planted the flag of the Army of Italy on the bridge. Gros captured this event and, through his treatment of it, found his vocation. This is at least what the legend, prepared by Bonaparte who already mastered propaganda and worked for his glory, says. In fact, the painting was commissioned in Milan and historians sometimes doubt the event itself. Under the Restoration, he became a member of the Institute, a professor at the École des Beaux-Arts, and was appointed Knight of the Order of Saint-Michel, and finally Baron (1824).