Hold Fast

1811

Marries Louise Pujol

Marries Louise Pujol, daughter of Governor Louis Pujol; they have two daughters, Louise, later the wife of Paul Delaroche, and Henriette Edmée, later the wife of Adolphe Yvon. Needing money for his young family, he takes on any work: clothing designs and caricatures for the Journal des dames et des modes, horses and races, portraits and landscapes.

1812

Salon debut with “The Taking of an Entrenched Camp”

Makes his debut at the Paris Salon with “The Taking of an Entrenched Camp near Glatz”, commissioned by Jérôme Bonaparte, Napoleon's younger brother and King of Westphalia; impressed by the artist's talent, Jérôme also commissioned an equestrian portrait of himself. By other accounts, Vernet was only twenty when the picture was shown.

1814

Among the civilian defenders of Paris

Becomes one of the civilian defenders of Paris against the approaching armies of the Allies; he would later depict the episode in “The Barrière de Clichy” (1820).

1814

Daughter born: Louise Vernet

December 1814

Made a knight of the Legion of Honour

In December 1814, the year of the defence of Paris, he becomes a knight (chevalier) of the Legion of Honour.