 In 1823 – 24 Etty made an extended trip to study in France and Italy, and returned a highly accomplished artist. His monumental 304 by 399 cm (10 ft by 13 ft 1 in) 1825 painting The Combat: Woman Pleading for the Vanquished was extremely well-received, and Etty began to be spoken of as one of England's finest painters. In February 1828 Etty soundly defeated John Constable by eighteen votes to five to become a full Royal Academician, at the time the highest honour available to an artist. On occasion he would re-use elements from Cleopatra in his later paintings, such as the black soldier who squats on the side of the ship in Cleopatra and who also sits watching dancers in his 1828 The World Before the Flood.
