Vernet

Vernet , French family of painters. Claude Joseph Vernet, 1714-89, marine painter, b. Avignon, studied with his father, Antoine Vernet, a decorative painter, and in Rome, where he acquired a reputation for fine work. He was summoned to Paris in 1753 and commissioned by the king to paint the famous series of seaports of France. He finished 14 of them (Louvre). His son Antoine Charles Horace Vernet, 1758-1835, called Carle Vernet, rose to fame under the empire with his drawings of the Italian campaign and his paintings The Battle of Marengo (Versailles) and Morning of Austerlitz. Under the Restoration he was popular as a lithographer and painter of dogs, horses, and scenes of the hunt. His son Émile Jean Horace Vernet, 1789-1863, was one of the most popular military painters of the 19th cent. He is best known for his decorations of the Constantine Room at Versailles and his Defense of the Barrier at Clichy (Louvre).

Vernet. Family of French painters, three members of which attained distinction. Joseph Vernet (b Avignon, 14 Aug. 1714; d Paris, 3 Dec. 1789) was one of the leading French landscape painters of his period. From 1734 to 1753 he worked in Rome, where he was influenced by the light and atmosphere of Claude and also by the more wild and dramatic art of Salvator Rosa. With Hubert Robert, he became a leading exponent of a type of idealized and somewhat sentimental landscape that had a great vogue at this time. Vernet was particularly celebrated for his paintings of the seashore and ports, and on returning to Paris in 1753 he was commissioned by Louis XV to paint a series of the seaports of France. He produced fifteen (more were planned but not executed), now divided between the Louvre and the Musée Maritime, Paris. His son Antoine-Charles-Horace, known as Carle Vernet (b Bordeaux, 14 Aug. 1758; d Paris, 27 Nov. 1836), painted large battle pictures for Napoleon, notably the Battle of Marengo (1806, Versailles), and after the restoration of the monarchy he became official painter to Louis XVIII, for whom he did racing and hunting scenes. He married the daughter of Jean-Michel Moreau. Their son Horace Vernet (b Paris, 30 June 1789; d Paris, 17 Jan. 1863) was one of the most prolific of French military painters, specializing in scenes of the Napoleonic era. A portrait of Napoleon and four battle pieces by him are in the National Gallery, London. He also produced animal and oriental subjects. From 1828 to 1834 he was director of the French Academy in Rome.

Vernet Family of French painters, three members of which attained distinction. Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714–89) was one of the leading French landscape painters of his period. From 1734 to 1753 he worked in Rome, where he was influenced by the light and atmosphere of Claude and also by the more wild and dramatic art of Salvator Rosa. With Hubert Robert, he became a leading exponent of a type of idealized and somewhat sentimental landscape that had a great vogue at this time. Vernet was particularly celebrated for his paintings of the seashore and seaports, and on returning to Paris in 1753 he was commissioned by Louis XV to paint a series of the seaports of France. He produced fifteen (more were planned but not executed), now divided between the Louvre and the Musée Maritime, Paris. His son Antoine-Charles-Horace, known as ‘Carle’ (1758–1836), painted large battle pictures for Napoleon, notably the Battle of Marengo (1806, Versailles), and after the restoration of the monarchy he became official painter to Louis XVIII, for whom he did racing and hunting scenes. Émile-Jean-Horace Vernet (1789–1863), known as Horace Vernet, son of Carle, was one of the most prolific of French military painters, specializing in scenes of the Napoleonic era. A portrait of Napoleon and four battle pieces by him are in the National Gallery, London. He also did animal and Oriental subjects. From 1828 to 1834 he was director of the French Academy in Rome.