This was followed by a study trip to Italy and the Netherlands. He had his first exhibit at the Salon in 1850 and was awarded a second-class medal. In 1852, his portrait of Adélaïde-Louise d'Eckmühl de Blocqueville earned him a first-class medal. He exhibited nine portraits at the Exposition Universelle (1855). They received honorable mention. He sent eight portraits to the Salon of 1857 and ten to the Salon of 1859, including one of Raymond-Théodore Troplong, President of the French Senate. After that, tired of being denied the Legion of Honor, he renounced official competitions and focused on his private clientele. He was apparently quite selective, however, seeking out those whose heads he liked and refusing to paint those whose heads he found disagreeable. Many of his portraits are of other painters.