The Palace of Versailles houses the world’s largest collection of paintings by the artist Horace Vernet, who – though now grown rather obscure – was once renowned for his triumphal scenes of colonial battles, many commissioned by King Louis-Philippe I (r. 1830–48). This exhibition of some 200 works is the first to be dedicated to the painter in more than 40 years (14 November–17 March 2024). The selection highlights how travels in Algeria during the bloody period of French colonisation, where he found fresh subjects for his Orientalist paintings, were key to developing his oeuvre. Works exhibited include The seizure of Abd-el-Kader’s camp in 1843 (1843–45), which depicts the military conquests of Louis-Philippe’s heirs, as well as more intimate portraits such as that of his daughter, Louise Vernet. Find out more on the Palace of Versailles’s website.
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Portrait of Louise Vernet, daughter of the artist (1828–33), Horace Vernet. Louvre Museum. © RMN-Grand Palais (Louvre Museum)/Michel Urtado
Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, 1212 (1817), Horace Vernet. Image: © RMN-GP (Palace of Versailles); © G. Blot
Portrait of Horace Vernet (1817), Ary Scheffer. Palace of Versailles, Paris. © RMN-GP (Palace of Versailles); © F. Raux