Not much is known about the artist of the original painting,
Fran�ois G�rard. He was one of the
major students of Jacques-Louis David and a key voice of
early 19th-century art in Paris.
The person, who has been working on G�rard's catalogue raisonn� for the last 30 years, is a corrupt dealer. Therefore, any conclusions that he has drawn are suspicious.
(The pictures and information were kindly provided by Ralph Rosen, a professor of classical studies at University of Pennsylvania, and Jon Seydl at the Getty respectively)