Carle Vernet

Bordeaux 1758 – Paris 1836

Antoine Charles Horace Vernet, also known as Carle Vernet, was the youngest son of Joseph Vernet, the famous painter of marine subjects. He was born in Bordeaux in 1758 while his father created his glorious views of the Ports of France on behalf of the French King. Carle Vernet was a pupil of his father and of Lépicié, a very successful history painter.

Joseph Vernet fostered his son Carle and his artistic talent on a large scale. He encouraged him during his art education and supported him financially. Thanks to Joseph’s own reputation, he enabled Carle to personally meet many of the most important men of his time – like for example Voltaire or Rousseau.

Carle Vernet loved horses since his childhood and immensely enjoyed painting and drawing them. Without a doubt, Carle Vernet is one of the best and most famous horse artists of the 19th century. He broke with tradition and drew horses with the forms he had learned while observing nature

in stables and riding schools. In 1782 he won the highly coveted Prix de Rome – his first major prize – and left to stay at the famous Villa Medici in Rome. The mystical “Eternal City” fascinated Carle Vernet. During this visit he turned towards religion and seriously thought about becoming a monk. His father travelled to Rome and persuaded him to return with him to Paris – just in time before Carle entered a monastery.

Back in Paris, Carle soon took up again his old life. In 1787 he married Catherine Moreau. Two years later, in the year of the French revolution, their famous son Horace was born. He would follow in his father’s footsteps. However, Carle Vernet’s life was not without sorrow. His sister Emilie was guillotined during the Revolution for hiding letters to members of the aristocracy. Together with a friend, Carle Vernet tried to save her, but all was in vain. After this tragic event, he gave up art. When he began to draw again, his style had changed. Carle Vernet started to paint detailed battles and campaigns to glorify Napoleon. In 1800, he followed Bonaparte to Italy and in 1808 Napoleon awarded him the Legion of Honor for one of his battle scenes.

Despite the dark clouds appearing in his youth, Carle Vernet was a very positive and happy character. Apart from the tragic end of his beloved sister, his life – similar to his father’s – was an almost uninterrupted series of triumphs and success. In his own time, Vernet was first of all known as an extraordinary painter of horses in full movement. Carle Vernet’s horses are truly special: They are lively creatures, always in action, full of temperament and high spirit. They look slender and elegant, with sparkling eyes and pricked ears. Carle Vernet often depicted his horses having their mouths open – a characteristic giving them a wild, untamed and dramatic touch. The security of Carle Vernet’s pencil stroke was remarkable.

The work of Carle Vernet can be divided into four categories: his refined pencil drawings, his impressive paintings, the charming watercolors and sepias and last but not least his lithographs. Carle Vernet belonged to the first French artists who experimented with lithography. Carle Vernet loved this new medium, which offered him a wide range of new possibilities. His handling of the black and white scale was outstanding. Apart from his battle scenes and horse pictures, Carle Vernet became famous for his caricatures and the illustrations of La Fontaine’s fables. Carle Vernet was also the first teacher for Théodore Géricault – another great French artist passionate about horses. Up to this day, Carle Vernet’s Arabian horse pictures are smashing. They provide a fantastic source of comparison and are an impulse for breeders.

Carle Vernet was an avid, excellent horseman throughout his life. Even in old age, he loved to ride regularly his thoroughbred through the park Bois de Boulogne. Just days before his death at the age of 78, he was seen racing with his horse as if he were a young man. Carle Vernet was an exceptional personality and a marvelous artist. No wonder that his pictures are among the most sought-after works concerning Arabian horses.

Carle Vernet’s last words before passing away were said to be: “It is bizarre how much I resemble the Grand Dauphin: son of a king, father of a king … and never king myself.” How soothing it would be for Carle Vernet to see his artwork so treasured in these days. He was a true king, a master of the Arabian horse in art.