FRENCH SCHOOL circa 1850: Portrait of General Simon Pierre Nicolas Prevost de Vernois (1778-1859). Original canvas (Ottoz) 147 x 115 cm. Old restorations and dents. Simon Pierre Nicolas Prevost de Vernois graduated first in his class at the École Polytechnique in 1799. He served in the Engineers and took part in almost all of Napoleon's campaigns, notably under the command of Marshal Davout. Represented as a lieutenant-general, he wore, in the order of precedence appropriate under the Restoration, the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis, awarded in 1814, his insignia of Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour, awarded in 1846, and the Royal Order of Merit of Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria, which he was authorised to wear in 1811. The plans in his hand evoke both his feats of arms, such as the Battle of Regensburg in 1809, and his role in the defensive system. The author of De la Fortification depuis Vauban, General Prevost de Vernois was head of the engineer corps in Strasbourg in 1814, director of the engineer corps in Saint Omer in 1816, and a member of the fortifications committee in 1840.