the house of Mme. VERnEt, Rue SERVandoni
Art Neuendorffer
*CONDORCET* was interred in The Panthéon in 1989, where his remains now
rest. The warrant forced *CONDORCET* into hiding. He hid for 5 months in
the house of *Mme. VERnEt, Rue SERVandoni* , in Paris. It was there that
he wrote Esquisse d'un tableau historique des progrès de l'esprit humain
(English translation: Sketch for a Historical Picture of the Progress
of the Human Mind), which was published posthumously in 1795 and is
considered one of the major texts of the Enlightenment and of historical
thought. It narrates the history of civilization as one of progress in
the sciences, shows the intimate connection between scientific progress
and the development of human rights and justice, and outlines the
features of a future rational society entirely shaped
by scientific knowledge.
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Marengo: The white stallion which Napoleon rode at Waterloo.
Its remains are now in the Museum of the United Services, London.
It is represented in *Vernet's picture of Napoleon Crossing the Alps*
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<<Émile Jean-Horace Vernet (June 30, 1789 - January 17, 1863) was a
French painter of battle panoramas, sporting, and Orientalist Arab
themes. Vernet was born to Carle Vernet, another famous painter, who
was himself a son of Claude Joseph Vernet. Ironically, he was born
in the Paris Louvre, while his parents were staying there during the
French Revolution. Vernet quickly developed a disdain of Renaissance
Classicism, and decided to create his "own" art form. Therefore,
he began depicting the French soldier in realism, rather than in
an idealized fashion. Some of his paintings regarding the real
French soldier include Dog of the Regiment, Trumpeter's Horse,
and Death of Poniatowski.
In 1819, Vernet began depicting immense, large-scale battle scenes.
Although his works were painted with good speed, they were considered
to be some of the best pictures of art regarding battle scenes. Also,
rather than capturing certain episodes of battles, Vernet chose entire
campaigns, such as the Battle of Italy and the capture of Rome. Also,
some of his more well-known pieces included those from the French
Revolution, and arguably his most famous work of art was the Battle
of the Bridge of Arcole, which he painted in 1826. That piece depicted
young Napoleon leading his troops across a bridge with a tattered flag.
The actual battle, Battle of the Bridge of Arcole (Le Bataille du Pont
d'Arcole in French), occurred in 1796.
Vernet depicted many other battles of the Napoleonic Wars, including the
Battle of Jena. Also, he accompanied the French Army during the Crimean
War, producing several important paintings, including one of the Battle
of the Alma. In addition, his depictions of Algerian battles, such as
the French occupation of the Pass of Mouzia, were well-received, as
they were natural depictions of the French army at hand. In fact,
when Emperor Louis Napoleon asked Vernet to remove a certain
obnoxious general from one of his paintings, he replied,
"I am a painter of history, sire, and I will not violate THE TRUTH."
Vernet died in his hometown of Paris in 1863.
In Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story "The Greek Interpreter"
Holmes claims to be related to Vernet, stating, "My ancestors were
country squires... my grandmother... was the sister of Vernet, the
French artist."
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Art Neuendorffer