This is a copy of Gérôme’s own painting that was exhibited in Salon du Paris in 1859. He tells a story from Book I of Herodotus’ Histories, covering the transfer of power between dynasties in ancient Lydia. The traditional clothes of Lydian women were designed to encourage modesty, so the beauty of Queen Nyssia was hidden from people. Her husband, King Candaules, bragged of his wife’s incredible beauty to his friend Gyges and persuaded him to hide in the royal bedroom to see the naked queen. Gyges did so, but when he was leaving the room, he revealed himself by making noise. Nyssia was offended and gave Gyges two options – either kill himself or kill Candaules and take his throne. The scene painted by Gérôme is absent from Histories, but it was included in the novel by Théophile Gautier, “King Candaules.” In Gautier’s novel and in the painting, Candaules also heard the noise, and his face reflects a change from contentment to fear as he realizes what has happened. It is likely that this artwork was painted to win the sympathy of Gautier because he supported the Neo-Greek movement to which Gérôme belonged. The name of the movement suggests that this group of painters used classical subjects, but their greater drive was to rekindle the early Neo-classicism of the 18th century. Gautier called these artists the Pompeians. The Neo-Greek artists were inclined toward miniature painting and very scrupulous rendering of all details, which explains their affinity for the tradition of Dutch genre painting.