The Studio of Cabanel Saint-Quentin, Aisne, provides the starting point for Jacques François Fernand Lematte. The year is 1850. He moves toward the École des beaux-arts de Paris, entering the studio of Alexandre Cabanel. This environment dictates his early trajectory. The air in the studio carries the weight of academic rigor and the expectations of the French Academy. A sudden shift occurs in 1870. Lematte produces The Death of Messal…