Collection: Eugène Delacroix   1798 - 1863 

The leading figure in French Romanticism, Delacroix showed artistic promise from a young age, winning draughtsmanship awards at the Lycée Imperial before learning under Guérin in his studio in 1815, who became his official tutor a year later when Delacroix entered the École des Beaux-Arts. By 1922 he had entered his first Salon exhibit, Dante and Virgil, to both public outcry and critical acclaim.

Delacroix was an ardent admirer of English painting and first visited the country in 1825. In 1831 he was appointed to the Légion d’Honneur, travelling in subsequent years across Europe and receiving multiple commissions under Louis-Phillipe and Napoleon III throughout the 1830s and 40s. His final Salon show came in 1859, and included the iconic Ovid among the Scythians. Delacroix died four years later.

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