Eugene DeLacroix

Artist Biography

Eugene DeLacroix, 1798-1863, was a French painter. DeLacroix is considered the foremost painter of the Romantic Movement in France. His influence as a colorist is inestimably great. He studied in Guerin's studio with Gericault, who became a major influence on his art, prints and posters. DeLacroix enriched his neoclassical training with acute attention to the works of Rubens, Michelangelo, Veronese, and the Venetian school, and later Constable, Bonington, and the English watercolorists. When his first major work, The Bark of Dante, had been exhibited in the Salon in 1822 and purchased by the government, he was, to his own surprise, recognized as the leader of the opposition to the neoclassical school of David. In temperament and choice of subjects he was a romantic, as revealed by his dramatic interpretation of scenes from mythology, literature, and political, religious, and literary history.

The four months DeLacroix spent in Morocco in 1832 provided him with visual material that he drew upon for the rest of his life. There he filled seven fat notebooks with brilliant watercolor sketches and notes. DeLacroix's other major sources were the art, prints and posters and lives of major literary figures. In 1820 he made 17 bizarre and exciting lithographs for Goethe's Faust. He used Shakespeare often in several media. He also created many strong paintings on religious themes.

DeLacroix's Self-Portrait reveals a thin, dynamic, yet reserved countenance. He also portrayed many notable contemporaries. During the last three decades of his life he secured numerous public commissions. His decorations in the Palais Bourbon (1833–47; Paris), the Palais de Luxembourg (1841–46), and the Church of Saint-Sulpice (1853–61) are examples of his genius as a muralist. His art, prints and posters are best represented in the Louvre.

Eugene DeLacroix Art, Prints and Posters Collection