His refusal together with William-Adolphe Bouguereau to allow the impressionist painter Édouard Manet and many other painters to exhibit their work in the Salon of 1863 led to the establishment of the Salon des Refusés by the French government.
Hans afvisning - sammen med William-Adolphe Bouguereau - af at tillade den impressionistiske maler Édouard Manet og mange andre malere at udstille deres arbejde i salonen i 1863 førte til oprettelsen af Salon des Refusés af den franske regering.