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.