The Man himself

This is him! this is Eugene Delacroix. SUPER SEXY RIGHT!


Don't worry we will start off with the basics.


This is Eugene Delacroix. Rumor has it that his full name was Fredinand Victor Delacroix, but probably due to much teasing he shortened his name to Eugene. Rumor also has it that he shouldn't even really be a Delacroix his "father" had some major surgery that makes it almost impossible for Eugene to be his son, So he is just a secret "or not so secret"love child, and since he is changing his name and isn't really a Delacroix he should have worked harder on a more interesting or catchy name. Could have helped him sell more art.



working out a little wouldn't have
hurt either...

I know what your thinking... I want to buy soo much art!

Delacroix was born in 1798 and died in 1863 so he was 65 years old when he died. But in that 65 years so much happened Napoleon was still at large when he was born to the American Civil war across the pond. A lot has happend and a lot has changed in Delacroix's life time and so has his art.

Time to say what Delacroix was known for...

He is known for being a Romantic painter awwww how sweet

He wasn't just any old romantic painter he was the "THE" Romantic painter Delacroix was considered to be the greatest (or the Best) Romnatic figure pantier! He was the only master therefore he is the leader. I guess that wasn't enough for our good ole Fredin or Gene, or whatever he goes by these days, no, no it was not enough!

Eugene also started to lean twords impressionism. I don't think it happened on purpose or that he decided one day that he was gonna be one. He had such loose brush strokes and I think he was just experimenting and one day poof he's an impressionist

now thats pretty impressive. He was also know for being an realist and an orientalist but we will get into that later

look at that impression

Portrait of Chopin and i1837 and

Delacroix was really a spritual guy he thought you could capture part of the person's spiritual intensity with the portrait. He was really into the whole sublime stuff that was going on at the time.

What made a painting sublime you ask well let me tell you.

If you find the picture to be striking and moving and it really makes you feel. Now I believe Delacroix was able to make this happen a few times people were really moved when they saw his paintings.

Now I wouldn't say that these paintings are sublime

but I would say they are very striking.

People found the portrait of Chopin to be more exciting and expressive and more alive.

He's the guy on the right.

Even though you see way more of Paganini.

But you want to know a secret

Eugene was friends with Chopin he knew him on a personal

level and I think that showed in the painting.

Hamlet and Horatio in the Churchyard 1859

"There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so" Hamlet quote (Act II, Sc. II). Oh Hamlet

Delacroix actually really loved music, art and litature they were his three loves

since he never tied the knot with anyone.

Delacroix loved plays when it came to all three of these art forms Eugene loved the classics best.

Its not that he didn't like contemporary stuff its just that when he compared the two the classics always came on top.

its not that he didn't admire the new thrilling bold ideas. He found though that the new ideas if they were polished and prefected like the Classics do they would be the best that they ever possibly could be.

So sorry Shakespear Delacroix found that Racine was the supreme dramatist.

Although Racine never inspired any art....strange

Even though Delacroix liked the classics more he himself was considered contemporary.

How Ironic

Lion and Cayman 1855

Fun Fact about Delacroix is that he wasn't that into reality. He finds it lame

and not very exciting and since he didn't have

video games growing up he had to use his imagination.

reality is over rated!

Delacroix loved exotic things he even traveled to South Africa to find things that were exotic. His paint takes place in an exotic land with exotic animals

Now how often do you see a cayman and a Lion fighting? probably Never!! unless you have see the Battle at Kruger

but this is clearly all in Delacroix's head and its a pretty awesome scene

Attila the Hun and his Hordes overrun Italy 1843

Attila the Hun He was the fearless leader of the Huns for about 20 years and feared by most of the Roman empire.
This is a good example of Eugenes intrest in oriental or just something thats different and not European.
You can see that Eugene is intrested in costumes he loved the different clothing he found Fance to be boring.
I found it interesting though that with as much intrest as Eugene had with other cultures and other places that Attila doesn't really look Asian in this painting.
He looks very euopean. I could be that Delacroix didn't really know what he looked like but I also heard that Attila was half asian.

We will give Eugene the benifit of the doubt.

Remember how we said Delacroix liked color and being expressive with his paint brush...
okay maybe we didn't say the paint brush part but I'm telling ya now.
if you look at Attila's horse you will see ther rare intensity of the horse.
Just because of the brush stroke
crazy!

Taking of Constantinople by the crusaders 1840

This work reminds me what David would do.

Even though Delacroix and David are very different. But the reason for this is becasue this painting is like a historic event. They aren't in classic clothing so thats a big difference so this is a romantic painting. But just the way everything is set up. Both David and Delacroix are masters at drawing the human figure.

Look they look great and the color choices look about the same.
But one huge difference would be that David made everything clean and polished and you would never ever and I mean EVER see any brushstrokes.

Delacroix as we know is totally cool with showing his brush strokes. Making this painting both romantic and impressionistic.

I personally like Delacroix more then David but I wonder what would have happened if they would paint the same subject who would do it better?

Femmes D'Alger 1834

This is the perfect example of Delacroix's intrest in
the oriental or in the foregin
Although I am sure that Eugene did a good job
making the women look like themselves
but I don't know how true his whole scene is.
I mean I doubt the women just sat around all day.
That is what it appears to be though
This might have started some negative thoughts about these woman and where they came from. But hopefully most people would look at this and admire it as a painting.
Either way I don't think Delacroix would ever want to represent them negatively. I don't think so at all.

Boissy D'Anglas at the Convention 1831

D'Anglas
Delacroix actually wasn't the
only one who painted this subject.. Yes its totally true.
But people tend to like Delacroix's version better because his wasn't so focused on heroic poses.
No his was more based on emotion
it felt more intense
more real
and thats pretty surpising coming from someone who wasn't to into reality

Boissy D'Anglas at the Convention 1831

again but with a picture
I don't know what happend to my other picture

Massacre De Scio 1824

This painting is also huge!

I don't know where Delacroix gets these.

But this was about war and the horrors of war its pretty obvious in the title.

We can go over the basics of this painting.

Lets play a game and go over the basics at the same time.

Q: What can we see that makes this a Delacroix painting.

A: easy

1. is the color Delacroix has rich color and this one he experimented with quite a bit. He did his fancy complementary color scheme with this painting

I would love to see a painting in person because printing can sometimes not work as well. So I feel cheated not seeing the real deal plus its a super big painting it would just be awesome to see.

2. You can see everyone has a real expressive face and the excellent figures that are drapped everywhere. Now this is before Delacroix started being really expressive in his brushstrokes but this is still a really expressive painting.

3. The whole thing is kind of oriental or exotic and Delacroix LOVED that

remember

the man on the horse is dressed so nice he is so decorated Im sure Delacroix loved painting it.

Head of a Woman study for the Massacre D Scio 1824

This picture is mostly a study as the title suggests for the Massacre D Scio. You can even see this woman in the picture.
But I almost like her here more.
she is painted much more looser in the study then in the actual painting.
And Delacroix usually painted more lose in studies he wasn't quite using it for finished works just yet.
As I mentioned before I like how you can see the brush strokes I think it looks I guess more expressive I just like the look.
But you can really see pain in her eyes this could just be a painting all on its own. It would be much more mysterious and you could imagine what she was worried about or what was she thinking.

Oh The Color

Another expressive painting

Not much to say except we could talk about COLOR

COLOR COLOR COLOR!!

This is what happens when you leave your crayons out in the sun

One of the more interesting things I read about my pal Gene is that he was so particular about his color. He spent so much time with it and was always trying to improve the way he paints and how to make to most of it.

He spent a lot of time on how to shade (how was the best way to enrich the shading)

Geney said and I quote from his diary or journal "...add black to a color is not that crative half tone but only to sully the color true half-tone should be made by adding not black, but the complementary of the color thus neutralizing it..."

Here is a helpful chart so you know your

oppisites

He also had some fun ideas for skin as well

I never would have thought to do that! I actually want to try this for myself on some art that I might be working on.

Heres another rumor though

are you ready for this

Our dear Delacroix might not have thought of this idea!

There was a man named Chevreul and he had the same color idea. but its not proven if Delacroix know about Chevreul idea because they tend to do somethings different. But I think he might have known

I have an Idear!

The Lion Hunt 1861

This is Delacroix's more lose or expressive works, This was done later in his life and you can tell how much his paintings have changed.

Although Eugene is still a romantic at heart I mean look at it! its about hunting lions! normally people don't do that everyday.

One of my favorite things I have read or about Delacroix was when someone mentioned "...Delacroix concern with rapid execution rebles him to the impressionist . There is the important difference however that Delacroix required speed in order to preserve the vitality of his imagination where as Impressionist worked rapidly in order to record natures shift of color." Now that is the coolest thing I ever heard! Its not that Delacroix needs the lighting no, no, its all in his head

I like tend to like the more expressive period anyways not everyone is concerned about accuracy we already know Delacroix can make a perfect nude and figures. This gives it more drama and well expression. I love the sky and the lions everything just matches and flows together fairly well.

I tend to like Eugene's later works I don't know if its the lose strokes or if its the color. I wish all of his works looked like this

but as one of my favorite lions says

you can't change the past

or it was something like that

Well unless you got one of these...

to be continued ...

Liberty Leading the people 1830

One for the romantic

This one is pretty self explanitory but if you are still clueless I will give you some important details about it.
The woman in the middle is Liberty she is leading the way for the French people. During the revolutionary war. The flag she is holding which is known to be the French flag was not so at the time. It was the French Revolutionary flag.

Guess who won!

In case you don't know Liberty isn't really a real person she is an allegory or an allegorical figure, for the word liberty, kind of like a goddess.

Liberty was actually modeled from an actual woman which is kind of scandalas considering Liberty isn't suppose to be a real woman. Which is kind of silly I think. I mean she is suppose to be one so why not take a woman as a model?
its that whole nude modisty thing

The French are so prude

Its okay for goddesess and Aligorical figures to be nude but not regular women.

Wouldn't want people to know we have legs and ankles.

I think Delacroix wanted to show off his ablility to draw the nude and wasn't expecting such negative respones to his Liberty. Or maybe he did, or at least expected it a little bit of criticism considering his model wasn't the most respectable woman around. in fact I believe she was a prostitute.
And Liberty is surely not a prostitiute.

Or so we think...

Death of Sardanapalus 1827

As we already know Delacroix was a famous artist during the nineteenth century. And one of his most famous paintings is







The Death of Sardanapalus.







Sardanapalus knew what I was talking about when it came to names





Now if you don't know much about The story Don't be embarassed I will fill you in. Sardanapalus was the last King of Nineveh and he was living it up in his palace. His kingdom was under attack by barbarians, He of course being a good king tried to stop it with his army. But it did no good as the last city of the kingdom was taken, Sardanapalus was a sore loser and didn't want the barbarians to get all of his nice stuff or his wives (he was a bad at sharing) So he sat on his bed set the room on fire with all of his treasures and had his wives killed infront of him.







Now if I were his wife I would think being sold into slavery sounded a little better then being stabbed and then burned alive but thats just me.








This picture was considered sublime at the time for its awe striking content!





Although I would agree that its pretty...graffic I mean its about this king who is murdering all of his wives so they won't be taken as slaves. (clearly the king was only thinking of them.)




I dont think Sardanapalus thought it throw very well, he wasn't being very creative



his wives are being murdered, it wasn't take some poison they were being stabbed in the chest. or wasn't there a back door the could sneak out of...






I wouldn't say this is my favoirte painting by Delacroix but you have to admit that its pretty awesome for having such a huge contraversy. I love how its considered Sublime and its so action pack and very posed for the dramatic effect. Although I feel Sardanapalus doesn't look very conserned. He looks very stoic for all the disaster that is going on around him.








There is no doubt that Delacroix is a master at the human figure all of the people look so real. I know that he practiced several times drawing figures drapped over objects so he could get it just right for this painting.


This doesn't even cover the amount of time he spent drawing and redrawing the figures. He really wanted to get it right. Gotta admire him for that.

I think though it had a pretty big contraversy because France saw themselves in the picture with all the troubles they had and were having kind of viewed as self-destructive.