After giving up history painting for decorative subjects for a time, in 1798 he produced "Augereau on the bridge at Arcole", the first in a series of paintings glorifying the Empire. He left for Italy, staying at the French Academy in Rome, meeting Dominique Ingres and becoming the Academy's director from 1816 to 1823. On his return to Paris, he was elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1825, then named Conservateur of the Cabinet des estampes in the Bibliothèque nationale.