Cheval Persan

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About Cheval Persan

This mid 19th century black and white lithograph after a drawing by Carle Vernet depicts a Saudi Arabian man riding his Persian horse. Measuring 16" x 22 1/2", the print shows mild foxing and a ragged left hand edge, evidence of previous binding. Antoine Charles Vernet, also known as Carle, was the son and pupil of the marine painter, Claude Joseph Vernet. From an early age he showed a tremendous aptitude for drawing and in 1782 was successful in winning the coveted Prix de Rome. Under the Empire, Vernet was awarded the Legion of Honor for his drawings of the Italian campaign. However, he is most noted as a painter and lithographer of horses, a subject to which he was devoted during the years of the Restoration. His work was so admired that Louis XVIII conferred the order of St. Michael upon him. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, horses were an invaluable aspect of everyday life. They provided transportation and sporting entertainment and thus, their breeding was of great importance. Artists celebrated the beauty and agility of the thoroughbred horse, as can be seen in Vernet's accomplished lithographs. Indeed, his equestrian passion was such that he himself was an avid horseman and just days before his death, at the age of seventy-eight, was seen racing as if he was a spry young man.