The War of 1870 between France and Germany has been over for a year. In the turmoil of a defeated France, rebuilding with an uncertain form of government, still occupied by the armies of the newly formed German Empire, a young artist emerges. Recovering from wounds, finding allies in all classes, developing self understanding and building alliances inside the Academic art world, presents a series of obstacles to the young man's progress. The greatest obstacle is the one he must solve himself, how to become an independent artist. At the Salon of 1874 the young man has a great success, that establishes his reputation, but does not quite understand why it has happened.