In December 1870, at a site called Tanagra in Greece, archaeologists unearthed a group of Hellenistic terra cotta figurines bearing traces of original polychrome.

The Tanagra figurines, which depicted not gods or heroes but ordinary people, were exhibited at the Exposition Universelle of 1878 in Paris, where they charmed and fascinated the public.

Tanagra figurines infiltrated popular literature and theater, as seen by references in Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891) and An Ideal Husband (1895), and Marcel Proust's Swann's Way (1913).

His famous images of gladiator combats, chariot races, slave markets, the assassination of Julius Caesar, and other subjects from ancient Greece and Rome were widely influential.

"[3] "Inspired by his characteristic desire for both archaeological accuracy and realism, Gérôme delicately tinted the skin, hair, lips, and nipples of his Tanagra, causing a sensation at the Salon of 1890.

"[4] A contemporary critic suggested that if the sculpture had been "secretly buried for a time, and then publicly excavated as an antique, perhaps with a broken arm, it would have turned the heads of the whole art world, and been declared in its vital characteristics and subtle anatomy a rival to the Milo Venus.

Also in this painting, the young artisan is busy "colouring an edition of 12 Hoop Dancers in various brilliant hues—a tongue-in-cheek advertisement, perhaps, made to promote the figurines that he [Gérôme] was offering for sale in two different sizes and a variety of media through his dealer and father-in-law Adolphe Goupil.

In these self-portraits Gérôme is seen sculpting Tanagra from a live model, Emma Dupont, who holds the seated, stiffly upright pose, though her upturned palm is empty.

Gérôme portrays himself on a turn stand putting the finishing touches on the plaster version of Tanagra, carefully judging the accuracy of his work against the live model.

"[4] As in all his works connected to Tanagra, we see Gérôme "powerfully evoking the continuous interplay between painting and sculpture, reality and artifice, as well as highlighting the inherently theatrical nature of the artist’s studio.