Horace
Vernet
(b Paris, 30 June 1789; d Paris, 17 Jan
1863).
Painter, son of Carle Vernet. He was born in his
father’s lodgings at the Palais du Louvre, where his
grandfather Joseph Vernet also lived; his maternal
grandfather was Jean-Michel Moreau. To these antecedents
and influences are ascribed the supreme ease of his
public career, his almost incredible facility and his
fecundity. His early training in his father’s studio was
supplemented by formal academic training with
François-André Vincent until 1810, when he competed
unsuccessfully for the Prix de Rome. He first exhibited
at the Salon in 1812. In 1814 Vernet received the Légion
d’honneur for the part he played in the defence of
Paris, which he commemorated in the Clichy Gate: The
Defence of Paris, 30 March 1814 (1820; Paris, Louvre),
a spirited painting that represented a manifesto of
Liberal opposition to Restoration oppression.