VERNET HORACE: (1789-1863)
VERNET HORACE: (1789-1863) French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist subjects. A.L.S., with his initials HV, one page, 8vo, n.p. (England), 8th June n.y. (´10h du matin´; 1844), to a female friend (´chère amie´), in French. Vernet informs his friend that he is at last going to see the Emperor, remarking ´J´ai cru que je n´y parviendrais pas car son ambassadeur a fait tout au monde pour m´en empêcher´ (Translation: ´ thought I would never manage it, as his ambassador did everything in his power to prevent me from going´) and further explaining ´J´ai des espions à mes trousses comme si j´avais sur moi une machine infernale. Voilà ce que me vaut un sot article de journal´ (Translation: ´I have spies hot on my heels, as if I were carrying some infernal contraption. That’s what a silly newspaper article has got me into´) before concluding ´Je pars dans l´instant assister à la fête du Duc de Devonshire et au retour je vais chez l´Empereur´ (Translation: ´I’m setting off straight away to attend the Duke of Devonshire’s party, and on my return I shall go to see the Emperor´). With blank integral leaf. VG
Although the Emperor is not identified in the present letter, the most likely candidate is Tsar Nicholas I of Russia (1796–1855), whom Vernet knew personally and whose patronage he enjoyed. The artist's references to the Emperor's ambassador attempting to obstruct their meeting and to being followed by ´spies´ after ´a silly newspaper article´accord well with the Tsar's reputation for strict political surveillance, and suggest the letter may date from Nicholas I's state visit to England in 1844.
William Cavendish (1790-1858) 6th Duke of Devonshire. English peer and courtier. The Duke was one of the great patrons of the arts in Britain and was closely involved in the reception of Tsar Nicholas I during his state visit to England in June 1844. Having accompanied Nicholas to Russia for his coronation in 1826, the Duke enjoyed the Tsar's personal esteem; indeed, during the 1844 visit Nicholas made a special visit to the Duke's villa at Chiswick, a mark of their longstanding friendship.
VERNET HORACE: (1789-1863) French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist subjects. A.L.S., with his initials HV, one page, 8vo, n.p. (England), 8th June n.y. (´10h du matin´; 1844), to a female friend (´chère amie´), in French. Vernet informs his friend that he is at last going to see the Emperor, remarking ´J´ai cru que je n´y parviendrais pas car son ambassadeur a fait tout au monde pour m´en empêcher´ (Translation: ´ thought I would never manage it, as his ambassador did everything in his power to prevent me from going´) and further explaining ´J´ai des espions à mes trousses comme si j´avais sur moi une machine infernale. Voilà ce que me vaut un sot article de journal´ (Translation: ´I have spies hot on my heels, as if I were carrying some infernal contraption. That’s what a silly newspaper article has got me into´) before concluding ´Je pars dans l´instant assister à la fête du Duc de Devonshire et au retour je vais chez l´Empereur´ (Translation: ´I’m setting off straight away to attend the Duke of Devonshire’s party, and on my return I shall go to see the Emperor´). With blank integral leaf. VG
Although the Emperor is not identified in the present letter, the most likely candidate is Tsar Nicholas I of Russia (1796–1855), whom Vernet knew personally and whose patronage he enjoyed. The artist's references to the Emperor's ambassador attempting to obstruct their meeting and to being followed by ´spies´ after ´a silly newspaper article´accord well with the Tsar's reputation for strict political surveillance, and suggest the letter may date from Nicholas I's state visit to England in 1844.
William Cavendish (1790-1858) 6th Duke of Devonshire. English peer and courtier. The Duke was one of the great patrons of the arts in Britain and was closely involved in the reception of Tsar Nicholas I during his state visit to England in June 1844. Having accompanied Nicholas to Russia for his coronation in 1826, the Duke enjoyed the Tsar's personal esteem; indeed, during the 1844 visit Nicholas made a special visit to the Duke's villa at Chiswick, a mark of their longstanding friendship.
