He moved to Paris in 1885 and stayed four years, during which time he, with other Swiss artists organised the Swiss fine arts section for the Paris International Exhibition of 1889, a task that caused some difficult relationships with other artists later on. Moving from Paris to Montpellier he completed 'La Descente des troupaux' 200 x 120 cm OOC in 1890. He moved back to Switzerland to be near his sick father in 1892 and completed several canvases of Swiss scenes including Lake Geneva. Following the death of his father and soon after his mother in 1894 he remained in the family home at Seppey near Moudon and produced 'The Peasant farmer' and his only major historical painting 'La Fuite de Charles le Téméraire (après la bataille de Morat)', 'The flight of Charles the Bold after the battle of Morat'. By this time he had produced over one hundred catalogued works.