Artwork

Famille Arabe en voyage

Famille Arabe en voyage, by Carle Vernet, ink, 1818
Famille Arabe en voyage, by Carle Vernet, ink, 1818

Famille Arabe en voyage is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Carle Vernet. It dates from 1818 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

About this work

Overview

Carle Vernet’s lithograph *Famille Arabe en voyage*, executed around 1818 on wove paper, portrays a caravan moving through an arid landscape. The composition centers on a man guiding a camel, while other figures sit or walk alongside the animals, set against a backdrop of palm silhouettes and rocky terrain that suggest an extended desert trek.

Subject & Meaning

The work captures a moment of everyday travel for an Arab family, emphasizing the practical aspects of movement across the desert rather than a narrative episode. By focusing on the logistics of the journey—camels, ropes, and the surrounding environment—the print offers a glimpse into the rhythms of nomadic life in the early nineteenth century.

Technique & Style

Created as a lithograph on wove paper, the image employs the characteristic tonal gradations of the medium, allowing for delicate shading of sand, foliage, and fabric. Vernet’s line work balances precise detail in the figures with broader washes that convey atmospheric depth, reflecting the French academic approach to printmaking of the period.

History & Provenance

Antoine Charles Horace Vernet (1758–1836), known as Carle Vernet, was a French painter descended from a lineage of artists—son of landscape painter Claude‑Joseph Vernet and father of Horace Vernet. The lithograph was produced during a prolific phase of his career, when he explored Oriental subjects that were popular in European art circles of the time.

Artist & collection

Portrait of Carle Vernet

Artist

Carle Vernet

Antoine Charles Horace Vernet, better known as Carle Vernet, was a French painter, the youngest child of painter Claude-Joseph Vernet and the father of painter Horace Vernet.

This work is in the public domain (CC0). Image source: National Gallery of Art open access. Spotted an error in this record? Tell us.