The Battle of Wagram

The Battle of Wagram is an 1836 history painting by the French artist Horace Vernet. It depicts Napoleon at the Battle of Wagram fought in July 1809 during the War of the Fifth Coalition. The battle, part of the Napoleonic Wars, was a victory for the [First First French Empire|French Empire|French] over the Austrian forces under Archduke Charles. Napoleon is mounted, watching the battle progress through a spyglass while he holds a half-opened battle plan in the other. Behind him Jean-Baptiste Bessières had had his horse shot from under him.
It commissioned during the July Monarchy by Louis Philippe I who as part of the restoration of the Palace of Versailles as a museum created the Galerie des Batailles filled with paintings of historic French victories. Vernet was commissioned to produce three of these works with depictions of Wagram, The Battle of Friedland and The Battle of Jena. It was exhibited at the Salon of 1836.