 He began studying with his father Jacques (1708–1773) who was an enamel painter.He continued his studies in Paris in 1769, with Joseph-Marie Vien, in whose studio he met David and was exposed to radical political thinking.After winning various lesser prizes, in 1780, he obtained the Prix de Rome with a "Rape of the Sabine Women", but was denied a place at the French Academy in Rome, because of his nationality and Protestant religion.