Born in Paris in 1790, Claude-Marie Dubufe began his apprenticeship in Jacques-Louis David's studio in 1804, although his father originally intended him for a diplomatic career.
His first shipment to the Salon in 1810 is "A Roman starves himself and his family to death, rather than touch a deposit of money entrusted to him" (location unknown). This painting was not noticed by the critics, so Claude-Marie decided to go to Italy to complete his training.
He returned to the Salon in 1812 with a large mythological scene, «Achilles taking under his protection Iphigénie, which his father Agamemnon wanted to sacrifice» (unknown location) and two portraits of women, the genre that will be the source of his success.