Émile-Jean-Horace Vernet

Horace Vernet hailed from a long line of artists.  His grandfather Joseph Vernet (1714-1789) was the official painter of seaports under Louis XV and his maternal grandfather was the printmaker and draughtsman Jean-Michel Moreau (1741–1814).  Horace received his first artistic training in his father’s studio and continued a formal training under the guidance of François-André Vincent.  His talent and reputation grew and his works were well received in the Salons.  In 1828, Horace was appointed Director of the French Academy in Rome and upon his return to Paris he took a post at the Académie des Beaux Arts, a position he held until his death.

Like his grandfather, Horace enjoyed royal patronage.  One of his earliest commissions was in fact a group of ten paintings depicting Napoleon’s horses (see Horace Vernet, 1789-1863, exhibition catalogue, Rome 1980, p. 37, cat. nos. 4 &5).  These works reveal his indebtedness to the English tradition of horse painting.

Jean-Georges Schickler (see Provenance below) was a member of a German based banking family.  After marrying his cousin, Marguerite-Angélica-Davida, the couple moved to Paris where they were first installed at 2, rue Pigalle.  They later purchased the famed Crozat residence at 17, Place Vendôme.  Schickler, who had a passion for horse racing, purchased several horse paintings from Horace Vernet.  Amongst the many entries recorded in Horace's account books is an 1828 payment in the amount of 1,500 francs from Schickler for “un cheval”.  It is very probable that this entry refers to the present signed and dated canvas.