Delacroix, Eugène
Delacroix, Eugène, in full FERDINAND- VICTOR-EUGENE DELACROIX
(b. April 26, 1798, Charenton-Saint-Maurice, Fr.--d. Aug. 13, 1863,
Paris), the greatest French
Romantic
painter, whose use of colour was
influential in the development of both
Impressionist and
Postimpressionist painters. His inspiration came chiefly from
historical or contemporary events or literature, and a visit to
Morocco in 1832 provided him with further exotic subjects.
[Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1994]
Eugene Delacroix is numbered among the
greatest and most influential of French painters. He is most often classified
as an artist of the
Romantic
school. His remarkable use of color was later to
influence
impressionist
painters and even modern artists such as
Pablo Picasso.
Ferdinand-Victor-Eugene Delacroix was born on April 26, 1798, in
Charenton-St-Maurice, France. In 1815 he became the pupil of the French
painter Pierre-Narcisse Guerin and began a career that would produce more
than 850 paintings and great numbers of drawings, murals, and other works. In
1822 Delacroix submitted his first picture to the important Paris Salon
exhibition:
Dante and Virgil in Hell.
A technique used in this work--many
unblended colors forming what at a distance looks like a unified whole--would
later be used by the impressionists. His next Salon entry was in 1824:
Massacre at Chios.
With great vividness of color and strong emotion it
pictured an incident in which 20,000 Greeks were killed by Turks on the
island of Chios. The French government purchased it for 6,000 francs.
-
The Massacre at Chios
1824 (60 Kb); Oil on canvas; Louvre
Impressed by the techniques of English painters such as
John Constable,
Delacroix visited England in 1825. His tours of the galleries, visits to the
theater, and observations of English culture in general made a lasting
impression upon him.
Between 1827 and 1832 Delacroix seemed to produce one masterpiece after
another. He again used historical themes in
The Battle of Nancy and
The Battle of Poitiers.
The poetry of Lord Byron inspired a painting for the 1827 Salon,
Death of Sardanapalus.
Delacroix also created a set of 17
lithographs to illustrate a French edition of Goethe's
Faust.
-
Study for "The Death of Sardanapalus"
1827-28 (77 Kb); Pastel with chalk over wash on paper;
Art Institute of Chicago
-
The Death of Sardanapal
1827 (130 Kb); Oil on canvas, 392 x 496 cm;
Musee du Louvre, Paris
The French revolution of 1830 inspired the famous
Liberty Guiding the People,
which was the last of Delacroix's paintings that truly embodied the
romantic ideal. He found new inspiration on a trip to Morocco in 1832. The
ancient, proud, and exotic culture moved him to write "I am quite overwhelmed
by what I have seen."
In 1833 Delacroix painted a group of murals for the king's chamber at the
Palais Bourbon. He continued doing this type of painting, including panels
for the Louvre and for the Museum of History at Versailles, until 1861. Much
of the architectural painting involved long hours on uncomfortable
scaffolding in drafty buildings, and his health suffered. He died on Aug. 13,
1863, in Paris. His apartment there was made into a museum in his memory.
Contributors:
Carol Gerten-Jackson and
Mark Harden.
-
Orphan Girl in a Cemetery
(40 Kb)
-
Ovid Among the Scythians
(60 Kb); National Gallery at London
-
The Sea of Galilee
(60 Kb); Walters Art Gallery at Baltimore
-
The Barque of Dante
1822 (150 Kb); Oil on canvas, 189 x 242 cm (74 1/2 x 95 1/4");
Musee du Louvre, Paris
-
Combat of Giaour and Hassan
1826 (80 Kb); Oil on canvas; Art Institute of Chicago
-
The Jewish Bride of Tangier
1832 (50 Kb); Watercolor over lead pencil on beige paper; Louvre
-
Algerian Women in Their Apartments
1834 (170 Kb); Oil on canvas, (180 x 229 cm) (71 x 90 1/4");
Musee du Louvre, Paris
-
Entry of the Crusaders into Constantinople on 12 April 1204
1840 (240 Kb); Canvas, 411 x 497 cm (162 x 195 1/2 in);
Musee du Louvre, Paris
-
The Abduction of Rebecca
1846 (40 Kb)
-
Arab Horseman Attacked by a Lion
1849-50 (40 Kb); Oil on panel; Art Institute of Chicago
-
Andromeda
c. 1852 (170 Kb); Oil on canvas, 32.5 x 24.8 cm (12 7/8 x 9 3/4 in);
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
-
Lion Hunt
1854 (180 Kb); Oil sketch, 86 x 115 cm (2' 9 3/4" x 3' 9 1/4");
Musee d'Orsay, Paris
-
Lion Hunt
1860-61 (80 Kb); Oil on canvas; Art Institute of Chicago
-
Arabian Horses Fighting in a Stable
1860 (160 Kb); Oil on canvas, 64.5 x 81 cm;
Musee d'Orsay, Paris
-
Arabs Skirmishing in the Mountains
1863 (160 Kb); Oil on canvas, 92.5 x 74.6 cm (36 3/8 x 29 3/8 in);
The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
© 16 Feb 1996,
Nicolas Pioch -
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