Art Guide · Painters
Eugène Delacroix
1798–1863
Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) was the leader of French Romanticism, known for dynamic compositions, powerful colour and historical scenes such as Liberty Leading the People (1830).
Last updated: · Iconica Society editors
Life
Born near Paris, he trained in the studio of Pierre-Narcisse Guérin and studied Rubens and the Venetian masters at the Louvre. Championing colour against Ingres’s emphasis on line, he became the leader of the Romantics. A trip to Morocco and Algeria in 1832 profoundly shaped his sense of colour and light.
The journal he kept throughout his life is one of the most valuable documents of 19th-century art. His last studio in Paris is now the Musée National Eugène Delacroix.
Style and key works
Liberty Leading the People commemorates the July Revolution of 1830: the woman striding over the barricades with the tricolour became one of the best-known images of Marianne, the symbol of the French Republic. The painting is in the Louvre.
Key works
Shop Eugène Delacroix posters →Frequently asked questions
What event does Liberty Leading the People depict?
The July Revolution of 1830, which overthrew King Charles X.
What was the rivalry between Delacroix and Ingres?
Ingres championed line and classical order, Delacroix colour and emotion; they are seen as the two opposing poles of 19th-century French painting.