Caylus was a leading figure in France and Europe between 1714 and 1765. His passion for the arts and literature led him to abandon his career in the army and embark on a series of travels to deepen his understanding of antiquity. The scientific rigor with which the comte de Caylus conducted his research made him to all intents and purposes one of the fathers of archeology. A major contribution to his studies of antiquity came from the journey Caylus made to Italy in 1714, of which he published a full account in Voyage d'Italie 1714-1715 (Fischbacher, Paris 1914). The work takes the form of a journal and is filled with annotations and observations on the most important cities in Italy. The comte de Caylus played a fundamental part in the dissemination of the "Greek" style, an artistic current that marked the transition from the Rococo to Neoclassicism. His work Recueil d'antiquités égyptiennes, étrusques, grecques et romaines... in seven illustrated volumes, was a rich source for painters like Joseph-Marie Vien and Louis-Joseph Le Lorrain. Also important was the relationship between Caylus and the painter Watteau, in whose workshop the count had served his apprenticeship as an engraver. Caylus's role as a patron in 18th-century Paris is reflected in his election as an honorary member of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture and then the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, where he promoted the funding of a literary prize for the study of ancient peoples.