Editing Eugène Delacroix (section)

==Career==
===''Chios'' and ''Missolonghi''===
[[Image:Scène des massacres de Scio.jpg|thumb|''[[The Massacre at Chios]]'' (1824)]]
Delacroix's painting of [[Chios Massacre]] during the [[Greek civil wars of 1823–1825]] shows dying Greek civilians rounded up for [[enslavement]] by the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref>{{cite book | author1= Axel Körner |title=America in Italy: The United States in the Political Thought and Imagination of the Risorgimento, 1763–1865 |publisher=  Princeton University Press |year=2017 |pages=44–45 |isbn=9781400887811 }}</ref> This is one of several paintings he made of contemporary events, expressing the official policy for the Greek cause in [[Greek War of Independence]] against the Turks, the English, the Russians, and the French governments. Delacroix was quickly recognized by the authorities as a leading painter in the new Romantic style, and the picture was bought by the state. His depiction of suffering was controversial, however, as there was no glorious event taking place, no patriots raising their swords in valour as in [[Jacques-Louis David|David's]] ''[[Oath of the Horatii]]'', only a disaster. Many critics deplored the painting's despairing tone; the artist [[Antoine-Jean Gros]] called it "a massacre of art".<ref name="wellington_xii" />

The pathos in the depiction of an infant clutching its dead mother had an especially powerful effect, although this detail was condemned as unfit for art by Delacroix's critics. A viewing of the paintings of [[John Constable]] and the watercolour sketches and art of [[Richard Parkes Bonnington]] prompted Delacroix to make extensive, freely painted changes to the sky and distant landscape.<ref>Wellington, pp. xii, 16.</ref>

[[Image:Eugène Ferdinand Victor Delacroix 017.jpg|right|thumb|upright|''[[Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi]]'' (1826), [[Musée des beaux-arts de Bordeaux]]]]
Delacroix produced a second painting in support of the Greeks in their war for independence, this time referring to the capture of [[Missolonghi]] by Turkish forces in 1825.<ref>Jobert, p. 127.</ref> With a restraint of palette appropriate to the allegory, ''Greece Expiring on the Ruins of Missolonghi'' displays a woman in Greek costume with her breast bared, arms half-raised in an imploring gesture before the horrible scene: the suicide of the Greeks, who chose to kill themselves and destroy their city rather than surrender to the Turks. A hand is seen at the bottom, the body having been crushed by rubble. The painting serves as a monument to the people of Missolonghi and to the idea of freedom against tyrannical rule. This event interested Delacroix not only for his sympathies with the Greeks, but also because the poet [[George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron|Byron]], whom Delacroix greatly admired, had died there.<ref name="Noon58" />

===Romanticism===
[[File:Ferdinand-Victor-Eugène Delacroix, French - The Death of Sardanapalus - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''[[The Death of Sardanapalus]]'' (1827), [[Philadelphia Museum of Art]]]]
[[File:Eugène Ferdinand Victor Delacroix 013.jpg|thumb|''[[The Murder of the Bishop of Liège]]'', (1829), [[Louvre Museum]]]]
A trip to England in 1825 included visits to [[Thomas Lawrence (painter)|Thomas Lawrence]] and [[Richard Parkes Bonington]], and the colour and handling of English painting provided impetus for his only full-length portrait, the elegant ''[[Portrait of Louis-Auguste Schwiter]]'' (1826–30). At roughly the same time, Delacroix was creating romantic works of numerous themes, many of which would continue to interest him for over thirty years. By 1825, he was producing lithographs illustrating Shakespeare, and soon thereafter lithographs and paintings from [[Goethe's Faust]]. Paintings such as ''The Combat of the Giaour and Hassan'' (1826), and ''Woman with Parrot'' (1827), introduced subjects of violence and sensuality which would prove to be recurrent.<ref>Jobert, p. 98.</ref>

These various romantic strands came together in ''[[The Death of Sardanapalus]]'' (1827–28). Delacroix's painting of the death of the Assyrian king [[Sardanapalus]] shows an emotionally stirring scene alive with colours, exotic costumes and tragic events. The ''Death of Sardanapalus'' depicts the besieged king watching impassively as guards carry out his orders to kill his servants, concubines and animals. The literary source is [[Sardanapalus (play)|a play]] by Byron, although the play does not specifically mention any massacre of concubines.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.artble.com/artists/eugene_delacroix/paintings/the_death_of_sardanapalus|title='The Death of Sardanapalus' – Analysis and Critical Reception|publisher=artble.com|access-date=27 May 2017|archive-date=28 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228070658/http://www.artble.com/artists/eugene_delacroix/paintings/the_death_of_sardanapalus|url-status=live}}</ref>

Sardanapalus' attitude of calm detachment is a familiar pose in [[Romanticism|Romantic]] imagery in this period in Europe. The painting, which was not exhibited again for many years afterward, has been regarded by some critics{{who|date=April 2018}} as a gruesome fantasy involving death and lust. Especially shocking is the struggle of a nude woman whose throat is about to be cut, a scene placed prominently in the foreground for maximum impact. However, the sensuous beauty and exotic colours of the composition make the picture appear pleasing and shocking at the same time.{{original research inline|date=April 2018}}

A variety of Romantic interests were again synthesized in ''[[The Murder of the Bishop of Liège]]'' (1829). It also borrowed from a literary source, this time Scott, and depicts a scene from the [[Middle Ages]], that of the murder of [[Louis de Bourbon, Bishop of Liège]] amidst an orgy sponsored by his captor, [[William de la Marck]]. Set in an immense vaulted interior which Delacroix based on sketches of the Palais de Justice in [[Rouen]] and [[Westminster Hall]], the drama plays out in chiaroscuro, organized around a brilliantly lit stretch of tablecloth. In 1855, a critic described the painting's vibrant handling as "Less finished than a painting, more finished than a sketch, ''The Murder of the Bishop of Liège'' was left by the painter at that supreme moment when one more stroke of the brush would have ruined everything".<ref>Jobert, pp. 116–18.</ref>

===''Liberty Leading the People''===
{{main|Liberty Leading the People}}
[[Image:La Liberté guidant le peuple - Eugène Delacroix - Musée du Louvre Peintures RF 129 - après restauration 2024.jpg|thumb|''[[Liberty Leading the People]]'' (1830), [[Louvre]], [[Paris]]]]
Delacroix's most influential work came in 1830 with the painting ''[[Liberty Leading the People]]'', which for choice of subject and technique highlights the differences between the romantic approach and the neoclassical style. Less obviously, it also differs from the Romanticism of [[Théodore Géricault|Géricault]], as exemplified by ''[[The Raft of the Medusa]]''.

<blockquote>Delacroix felt his composition more vividly as a whole, thought of his figures and crowds as types, and dominated them by the symbolic figure of Republican Liberty which is one of his finest plastic inventions...<ref name="wellington_xv">Wellington, p. xv.</ref></blockquote>

Probably Delacroix's best-known painting, ''Liberty Leading the People'' is an unforgettable image of Parisians, having taken up arms, marching forward under the banner of the [[Flag of France|tricolour]] representing liberty, equality, and fraternity. Although Delacroix was inspired by contemporary events to invoke this romantic image of the spirit of liberty, he seems to be trying to convey the will and character of the people,<ref name="wellington_xv" /> rather than glorifying the actual event, the [[1830 revolution]] against [[Charles X of France|Charles X]], which did little other than bring a different king, [[Louis Philippe I]], to power. The warriors lying dead in the foreground offer poignant counterpoint to the symbolic female figure, who is illuminated triumphantly against a background of smoke.<ref>Allard, Sébastien, Côme Fabre, Dominique de Font-Réaulx, Michèle Hannoosh, Mehdi Korchane, and Asher Ethan Miller (2018). ''Delacroix''. New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art. pp. 74–76. {{ISBN|1588396517}}.</ref>

Although the French government bought the painting, by 1832 officials deemed its glorification of liberty too inflammatory and removed it from public view.<ref>Allard, Sébastien, Côme Fabre, Dominique de Font-Réaulx, Michèle Hannoosh, Mehdi Korchane, and Asher Ethan Miller (2018). ''Delacroix''. New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 76. {{ISBN|1588396517}}.</ref> Nonetheless, Delacroix still received many government commissions for murals and ceiling paintings.<ref>Allard, Sébastien, Côme Fabre, Dominique de Font-Réaulx, Michèle Hannoosh, Mehdi Korchane, and Asher Ethan Miller (2018). ''Delacroix''. New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 103. {{ISBN|1588396517}}.</ref>

Following the [[Revolution of 1848]] that saw the end of the reign of King Louis Philippe, Delacroix' painting, ''Liberty Leading the People'', was finally put on display by the newly elected president, Louis Napoleon ([[Napoleon III]]). It is exhibited in the [[Louvre]] museum in Paris; although from December 2012 until 2014 it was on exhibit at [[Louvre-Lens]] in [[Lens, Pas-de-Calais]].<ref name="USAToday Online, December 23, 2012">{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/dispatches/2012/12/23/new-louvre-museum/1787239/ | title=''Louvre museum gets a sister'' | publisher=USAToday | access-date=23 December 2012 | date=23 December 2012 | archive-date=24 December 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121224093922/http://www.usatoday.com/story/dispatches/2012/12/23/new-louvre-museum/1787239/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

The boy holding a pistol aloft on the right is sometimes thought to be an inspiration for the [[Gavroche]] character in [[Victor Hugo]]'s 1862 novel, ''[[Les Misérables]]''.<ref>Néret, Gilles ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=510NakxgJ5EC&pg=PA26 Delacroix]'', p. 26. Taschen, 2000. {{ISBN|3822859885}}. Retrieved 27 May 2017.</ref>

===Religious works===

[[File:Eugène Delacroix - Christ on the Sea of Galilee - Google Art Project (27796212).jpg|thumbnail|''Christ on the [[Sea of Galilee]]'', 1854 ]]

Delacroix painted hundreds of religious works in his lifetime and had a strong interest in Christianity.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2009-06-08 |title=The Unknown Delacroix: The religious imagination of a Romantic painter |url=https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/700/art/unknown-delacroix |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=America Magazine |language=en |archive-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213195206/https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/700/art/unknown-delacroix |url-status=live }}</ref> He had many commissions for religious paintings, including pieces for the Saints-Anges chapel of Saint-Sulpice in Paris.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Delacroix's Works in Paris – Musée Delacroix |url=https://www.musee-delacroix.fr/en/museum-studio/eugene-delacroix-37/delacroix-in-paris-178/delacroix-s-works-in-paris |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=www.musee-delacroix.fr |archive-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213195208/https://www.musee-delacroix.fr/en/museum-studio/eugene-delacroix-37/delacroix-in-paris-178/delacroix-s-works-in-paris |url-status=live }}</ref> His religious paintings and style would shift drastically depending on the needs of the commission.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Allard |first1=Sébastien |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NHlqDwAAQBAJ&q=religion |title=Delacroix |last2=Fabre |first2=Côme |last3=Font-Réaulx |first3=Dominique de |last4=Hannoosh |first4=Michèle |last5=Korchane |first5=Mehdi |last6=Miller |first6=Asher |year=2018 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |isbn=978-1-58839-651-8 |page=121 |language=en}}</ref>

Some of his religious works, such as ''[[Christ on the Sea of Galilee]]'', had multiple painted versions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eugène Delacroix {{!}} Christ Asleep during the Tempest |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436176 |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |language=en |archive-date=4 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231104133239/https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/436176 |url-status=live }}</ref> Delacroix's ''Pietà,'' a painting of the Virgin Mary mourning Christ after his death, was eventually redone by [[Vincent van Gogh|Vincent Van Gogh]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pietà (after Delacroix) Vincent van Gogh, 1889 |url=https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/s0168V1962 |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=Van Gogh Museum |language=en |archive-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213200710/https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/s0168V1962 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Delacroix reflected on religion through his paintings, and his religious works often show subtle details to Biblical texts.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bland |first=Cynthia |date=2022 |title=Inspiration, innovation, and emotion: The early religious paintings of Eugène Delacroix |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/066fbff30a37c2e2d7a0757eb3578050/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y |journal=The University of Iowa |page=2 |id={{ProQuest|302145698}} |archive-date=13 February 2024 |access-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213195206/https://www.proquest.com/openview/066fbff30a37c2e2d7a0757eb3578050/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y |url-status=live }}</ref> While considered an unbeliever or agnostic, his journal and paintings reveal an openness and receptiveness to spirituality through his art.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Soul of Eugene Delacroix |url=https://fslt.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/statelibrary/search/detailnonmodal/eds:$002f$002f907684791$002f0$002fedsgac$007c$007cedsgac.A53412883/ada/de625a1e-b45f-48f0-b4b3-e6ad7787e3bc.TRnkVot1r6iHeKylApjroA$003d$003d?qu=delacroix+religion&if=el%09edsSelectFacet%09FT&if=ee%09edsExpanderFacet%09relatedsubjects&d=eds://907684791/0/edsgac%7C%7Cedsgac.A53412883~907684791~5&h=8 |access-date=2024-02-13 |website=fslt.ent.sirsi.net}}</ref><ref name=":0" />