In 1803, Blondel won the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture’s Rome Prize with his composition Aeneas carrying his father, Anchises, from burning Troy. His dramatic subject was popular in history painting and is a challenge to depict in a convincing way. Blondel’s finished version is in the Royal Academy’s collections in Paris. The artist did not have the opportunity to go to Rome until in 1809 but then stayed there for three years.