The present book is a lightly revised version of my PhD dissertation, submitted at the Courtauld Institute of Art in 2013. Its title, Military Painting under the Second Empire, suggests the broad scope covered: the entire corpus of French military painting during the two decades of Napoleon III’s martial regime. Given the breadth of the study as well as my attempt to bring together various discplines and methodologies to contex- tualise the importance of military paintings at this moment in history, publications touching on individual aspects of my study have naturally proliferated since early 2013, when my thesis was essentially completed. I have included the most relevant contribu- tions in my bibliography and flagged them in the footnotes. For their support in helping me to realise my dissertation and its publication, I would like to extend my gratitude to numerous institutions and individuals. John House’s consistent encouragement and enthusiasm for my research subject first led me to embark on this project. I am very grateful for having had the privilege to benefit from his vast knowledge and inspiring way of thinking about art history. I owe a spe- cial debt of thanks to Satish Padiyar for having taken over the supervision of my thesis in such a proactive and inspiring way. Working with him has been a real joy, and his generous guidance and commitment as well as incisive readings of drafts have truly enriched my work. I thank Melanie Vandenbrouck for having been my mentor and critic and for our discussions on Vernet. I also wish to thank Stephanie Buck for her support and for consistently challenging me. I benefitted enormously from the intel- lectual stimulation and critical feedback of other colleagues and friends, including Wolf Burchard, Mary Camp, Martina Caruso, Anna Fukuda, Ashley Robertson Givens, Harriet Griffith, Katie Hornstein, Nancy Ireson, Maud Jacquin, Alister Mill, Lois Oliver, Edward Payne, Virginia Rounding and Rachel Sloan. My thesis was financially supported by a Dr Martin Halusa Scholarship. Outside the art history realm, a multitude of individuals have assisted with this project. I wish particularly to thank the historian Orlando Figes for engaging with my research about the Crimean War and for sharing his knowledge as I planned a travel route to the battlefields and memorials in the Crimea in 2012. General Sir Hugh Acknowledgements Unauthenticated Download Date | 11/17/19 11:20 PM