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 FrenchRomantic painter, whose use of colour was influential in the development ofboth Impressionist and Postimpressionist painters. His inspiration came chieflyfrom historical or contemporary events or literature, and a visit to Morocco in1832 provided him with further exotic subjects.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1994
EugeneDelacroix is numbered among the greatest and most influential of Frenchpainters. He is most often classified as an artist of the Romantic school. Hisremarkable use of color was later to influence impressionist painters and evenmodern artists such as Pablo Picasso.
Ferdinand-Victor-EugeneDelacroix was born on April 26, 1798, in Charenton-St-Maurice, France. In 1815he became the pupil of the French painter Pierre-Narcisse Guerin and began acareer that would produce more than 850 paintings and great numbers ofdrawings, murals, and other works. In 1822 Delacroix submitted his firstpicture to the important Paris Salon exhibition: Dante and Virgil in Hell. A technique used in thiswork–many unblended colors forming what at a distance looks like a unifiedwhole–would later be used by the impressionists. His next Salon entry was in1824: Massacre at Chios.With great vividness of color and strong emotion it pictured an incident inwhich 20,000 Greeks were killed by Turks on the island of Chios. The Frenchgovernment purchased it for 6,000 francs.
Impressedby the techniques of English painters such as John Constable, Delacroix visitedEngland in 1825. His tours of the galleries, visits to the theater, andobservations of English culture in general made a lasting impression upon him.
Between1827 and 1832 Delacroix seemed to produce one masterpiece after another. Heagain used historical themes in TheBattle of Nancy and TheBattle of Poitiers. The poetry of Lord Byron inspired a paintingfor the 1827 Salon, Death of Sardanapalus.Delacroix also created a set of 17 lithographs to illustrate a French editionof Goethe’s Faust.
The Frenchrevolution of 1830 inspired the famous LibertyGuiding the People, which was the last of Delacroix’s paintingsthat truly embodied the romantic ideal. He found new inspiration on a trip toMorocco in 1832. The ancient, proud, and exotic culture moved him to write«I am quite overwhelmed by what I have seen.»
In 1833Delacroix painted a group of murals for the king’s chamber at the PalaisBourbon. He continued doing this type of painting, including panels for theLouvre and for the Museum of History at Versailles, until 1861. Much of thearchitectural painting involved long hours on uncomfortable scaffolding indrafty buildings, and his health suffered. He died on Aug. 13, 1863, in Paris.His apartment there was made into a museum in his memory.
Список литературы
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