The bicentenary anniversary of the birth of Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863) is being celebrated in France with a series of
exhibitions in Paris, Chantilly and Tours.
The Grand Palais in Paris will exhibit works of the 1850-1863 period between April 10th and July 20th 1998, the National
Library (Bibliothèque Nationale) will show drawings and engravings by Delcaroix between April 7th and July 12th, the
Musée Condé in Chantilly will exhibit its own collection of Delacroix's works between April 10th and July 20th while
the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Tours, Western France, will present works produced by the artist in the Touraine region
in the 1820's between May 15th and July 31st.
Delacroix was hailed during the second half of the 19th Century as one of the forerunners of Impressionism but already
he had been famous at 24 with his painting of Dante and Virgi exhibited at the Paris Salon which provoked admiration
and fierce criticisms at the same time. Two years later, Delacroix faced a similar situation with his painting of the Massacres of Scio, inspired by the Greek
rebellion against the Turks which bore the influence of Rubens, Michelangelo and Géricault but did not please a large
part of the public, including the novelist Stendhal. From that day, Delacroix became determined to resist pressures and
to defend his artistic ideals to the utmost and thus until his death.
In fact, Delacroix eventually imposed himself as one of the great masters of the 19th Century after devoting much of
his time to painting preferring to work intensiley and therefore eschewing the company of the main figures of the Paris
life. His major painting, the Death of Sardanapale, was harshly criticised not only by the public but also by many artists
who could not understand such ambitious work.
Fighting against ill-health Delacroix often depicted fighting scenes as in his work "Liberty guiding the people" painted
in 1830 marking the revolution against King Charles X and in his spectacular painting showing Jacob wrestling against
the Angel.
Delacroix also painted the fall of Constantinople, the Battle of Taillebourg and many hunting scenes and fights
between wild animals between 1840 and 1862.
Hailed as a romantic painter with his Moroccan scenes, Delacroix continously depicted suffering and violence as in the
Death of Sardanapale, the legendary king of Assyria, who preferred to die with his harem and servants rather than
surrender to the Persian invaders.
In his constant fight, against the public and also against himself, Delacroix infused drama in most of his paintings
swaying between romanticism and classicism. The Romantic movement considered him as its leader though he never
liked to be described as his exponent. Delacroix in fact refused to be linked to any kind of school and only tried to conciliate tradition and freedom in order to
reach a new dimension in painting.
To compensate for his apparent lack of courage in normal life - he never involved himself in politics and stayed away
from the 1830 and 1848 revolutions- Delacroix nevertheless instilled his rebellion in painting and such stand paved the
way to modernism in painting.
Being one of the first artists who used classicism as a springboard toward novelty, he can rightly be considered as a
pioneer of the Impressionist school since Manet and Degas copied old masters at length before evolving in the
direction of a new form of art. His stubborness vis-à-vis the public and art critics certainly had some effects on Monet,
Renoir, Pissarro or Sisley when these artists were scoffed at for many years before reaching fame.
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