Delacroix (1798 - 1863)

Romanticism

Eugene Delacroix developed the theme of emotional power. The Romanticist painters valued imagination as it signaled liveliness. Delacroix tried to execute his paintings with restraint and skill while inviting the viewer to feel emotional power. He was said to be the soul-stirring interpreter of literary artists, such as Shakespeare, thus creating story pictures.

Liberty Leading the People

Delacroix mostly chose his subjects from non-Classical or post-Classical periods and literature. But one of his most recognized paintings derives from events of his own time: Liberty Leading the People. This painter relied on painting and compositional techniques that had existed for decades; but, he also took advantage of the emerging technique of photography to reproduce realistic figures, albeit in dramatic composition.

Delacroix was said to be an artist of passion. His contemporary, Baudelaire, said he was "passionately in love with passion ...." Delacroix conveyed subject, mood, and drama - a Romantic artist.

Delacroix saw a painting as a means of communication between the soul of the artist and the soul of the viewer. The painting can serve as a bridge between the artist and the "spectator," seeking an emotional impact through use of the artist's imagination. (Barasch)