Nurse in prayer Fernand-Anne Piestre, who later took the surname Cormon from his mother and became globally known as Fernand Cormon, was popular not so much for his paintings, scattered in the most important museums of France, but for the school he opened: the legendary “Cormon’s Atelier”, which was a shelter and a source of inspiration for some of the most important artists of the late 19th century. Among them, Vincent Van Gogh, who, after a brief period at the Académie Julian, found in the atelier the atmosphere and friendships which better fitted his restless lifestyle. The extraordinary freedom that Cormon granted his students, together with his great ability to teach painting techniques, turned Cormon into a real master for generations of artists who, thanks to his contribution too, would play a role in changing the history of art. Here Van Gogh had the chance to see and get to know artists such as Toulouse Lautrec and Emile Bernard, who were important to his education, and probably also Gauguin, as can be seen from a picture, taken inside the Cormon’s studio, immortalizing all the students, including Gauguin himself. Toulouse Lautrec and Van Gogh are also immortalized in another picture taken in Cormon's Atelier, in which the master is painting surrounded by his pupils. Among them, Toulouse Lautrec can be recognized seating in the foreground, and a very young Van Gogh below, crouching and focusing on Cormon as he paints.