carle vernetAntoine Charles Horace Vernet aka. Carle Vernet (14 August 1758 - 17 November 1835) was a French painter, the youngest child of Claude Joseph Vernet, and the father of Horace Vernet.
The Battle of Wagram; colored litho by Carle Vernet and Jacques SwebachBorn in Bordeaux, Vernet was a pupil of his father and of Nicolas-Bernard Lepicie. Strangely, after winning the grand prix (1782), his father had to recall him back from Rome to France to prevent him from entering a monastery.
In his Triumph of Paulus Aemilius, he broke with tradition and drew the horse with the forms he had learnt from nature in stables and riding-schools. His hunting-pieces, races, landscapes, and work as a lithographer were also very popular.
Carle's sister was executed by the guillotine during the Revolution. After this, he gave up art.
When he again began to produce under the French Directory (1795 - 1799) , his style had changed radically. He started drawing in minute detail battles and campaigns to glorify Napoleon. His drawings of Napoleon's Italian campaign won acclaim as did the Battle of Marengo, and for his Morning of Austerlitz Napoleon awarded him the Legion of Honour. Louis XVIII of France awarded him the Order of Saint Michael. |