VERNET, Horace
(b. 1789, Paris, d. 1863, Paris)

Soldier-Labourer

1820
Oil on canvas, 55 x 46 cm
Wallace Collection, London

In the painting, the discharged veteran of the Grand Army pauses to meditate after turning up a French helmet on the field where he now works as a ploughman. His eyes are haunted, resentful; but the tightly clenched muscles of his arms hint at strength only partly suppressed.