One of the last old Masters of painting,
French Romantic
Eugène Delacroix
was born on 26 April 1798,
at Charenton-Saint-Maurice
in Île-de-France.
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He was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.
His use of expressive brushstrokes and his study of the optical effects of colour influenced the work of the Impressionists, while his passion for the exotic inspired the artists of the Symbolist movement. A fine lithographer, Delacroix illustrated various works of William Shakespeare, Walter Scott and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
In the words of Baudelaire:
“Delacroix was passionately in love with passion, but coldly determined to express passion as clearly as possible.”
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Together with Ingres [his chief rival], Delacroix is considered one of the last old Masters of painting, and one of the few who was ever photographed.
His legacy: 9140 works, including 853 paintings, 1525 pastels and water colours, 6629 drawings, 109 lithographs, and over 60 sketch books.
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“The more an object is polished or brilliant, the less you see its own color and the more it becomes a mirror reflecting the color of its surroundings.”
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“I can paint you the skin of Venus with mud, provided you let me surround it as I will.”
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“A picture is nothing but a bridge between the soul of the artist and that of the spectator.”
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“One always has to spoil a picture a little bit in order to finish it.”
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“I go to work as others rush to see their mistresses, and when I leave, I take back with me to my solitude, or in the midst of the distractions that I pursue, a charming memory that does not in the least resemble the troubled pleasure of lovers.”
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“The artist who aims at perfection in everything achieves it in nothing.
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“In abandoning the vagueness of the sketch the artist shows more of his personality by revealing the range but also the limitations of his talent.”
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“The source of genius is imagination alone, the refinement of the senses that sees what others do not see, or sees them differently.
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“What moves men of genius, or rather what inspires their work, is not new ideas, but their obsession with the idea that what has already been said is still not enough.”
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“One always begins by imitating.”
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“All painting worth its name, unless one is talking about black and white, must include the idea of color as one of its necessary supports, in the same way that it includes chiaroscuro, proportion, and perspective.
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“Cold exactitude is not art… The so-called consciousness of the majority of painters is only perfection applied to the art of boring. People like that, if they could, would work with the same minute attention on the back of their canvas.“
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“Remember the enemy of all painting is gray: a painting will almost always appear grayer than it is, on account of its oblique position under the light.”
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“One must learn to be grateful for one’s own findings.”
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“Those things which are most real are the illusions I create in my paintings.“
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“In abandoning the vagueness of the sketch the artist shows more of his personality by revealing the range but also the limitations of his talent.”
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“Not only can color, which is under fixed laws, be taught like music, but it is easier to learn than drawing, whose elaborate principles cannot be taught.”
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“Nature is a dictionary; one draws words from it.”
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“A taste for simplicity cannot endure for long.“
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“Do all the work you can; that is the whole philosophy of the good way of life.”
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“A fine suggestion, a sketch with great feeling, can be as expressive as the most finished product.”
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Delacroix photo
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“Nothing can be compared with the emotion caused by music; that it expresses incomparable shades of feeling.”
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Piano Concerto No2 Op. 21 in F minor
Frédéric Chopin
Piano: Arthur Rubinstein
London Symphony Orchestra conducted by André Previn
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and
Nocturne no. 8 op. 27 no. 2
Frédéric Chopin
Piano: Maurizio Pollini
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For more information on Delacroix:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Delacroix
https://www.eugenedelacroix.org/
http://www.musee-delacroix.fr/en/museum-studio/eugene-delacroix-37/biography-140/biography-16
Marina Kanavaki 
Thanks Marina. This is an exciting and varied view of some of his work, alongside some of his thought-provoking quotes on technique and inspiration.
Best – Ford
Hi Ford and thanks for joining along the journey to this artist’s work and for your kind words! 🙏
Another artist new to me. The horse is my favorite. Over 9,000 works is prolific!!!!! Yamas!
Prolific indeed!!!! I prefer his animals too as I’m not that fond of this artist! 😉
Yamas!
Beautiful Marina. Thank you for sharing.
Thank YOU, John, for joining me in this journey! 🙏
Reblogged this on Graffiti Lux Art & More and commented:
Marina does fabulous retrospectives on artists throughout history. Here is her piece on Eugène Delacroix. Thank you, Marina!
Thank you, dahling!!!! Mouah!!!!
🧡🤗❤💗💜💛🙏🌷❤🧡🤗🌼⚘🎵
These are such good quotes! (The paintings are OK, too 😉 ) Delacroix looks very much the Romantic in those two portraits.
I actually prefer the quotes! 😉…not a huge Delacroix fan! He does, you’re right!
It’s not just me, then. I did love the quotes, the paintings not as much, although I did like the tiger.
Not just you! 😉 …and yes, I liked that tiger too! 😘
Thank you, Marina! That was amazing art, music and all!
So much art has been created, music too, all arts. Thank goodness. Without art, what are we?
Okay, off to visit the new post.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Oh… you’re so right… without art…
And to think that we keep rediscovering art we already know!
So happy you enjoyed my Delacroix journey!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Simply magical…It’s like a trip to the museum during this this period of confinement. Thank you Marina for sharing these wonders!
A painter’s birthday is a great opportunity to revisit his work! Thank YOU, my dear friend for taking this journey with me! 🙂
I am always delighted in discovering new art I have not seen before Marina… And loved the sketches included here…
Stay Blessed my friend… Huge hugs your way ❤
Oh, I’m so glad you enjoyed this post. You too, my dearest Sue! Many many hugs and love your way! ❤🤗❤
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EXCELLENT!
Ah, thank you, my dear Nawfal!
Beautiful art and wonderful background by you! Love the music of course. ❤️🌸🌺
Oh, happy you enjoyed, Holly. He is a great painter… not one that I’m very fond of but I appreciate greatly his work and some a lot too! Chopin was a natural choice, them being friends, and me loving all his work! 😉 xoxoxoxo
Chopin’s music is wonderful!
It is!!!!!! ❤️🤗❤️
❤️🌺♥️
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xo 🌹
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Wow! I’m loving this “art series” (for want of a better term). I had never heard of Delacroix and love his style. Great quotes, too. And that Chopin Nocturne No. 8… delish! Perfect for a Sunday
I’m so happy to hear that… the idea came from hubs birthday celebrations of musicians [copycat! ;-)]
Delacroix did the famous painting [of which I included his sketch for] Liberty Leading the People for the July French Revolution of 1830
Liberty Leading the_People
Chopin was the natural choice, as they were friends! Delish… yep! 🙂 xoxoxoxoxo
Hey – who cares where the inspiration came from 😉 I’m just happy you are doing it 😀
And yes, Chopin was definitely the perfect choice.
xoxoxo
I’ve been trying to add an image of his famous painting ‘Liberty Leading the People’, but image wouldn’t show, so I’ve added a link in my edited comment.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo [extra kisses!]
Don’t ya hate when you can’t add what you want where you want? I’ll go and check.
Oooh lala xoxoxoxo
I do!!!!!!!!!! 🤣🤣😂🤣👿😡
Wow… quite the painting!
No wonder that painting has become a symbol!
Seriously
And you said you were not even that much of a fan!!
…it’s true! But one has to be just! After all he is one of the great painters! 😉
You are so very funny…
😉 xoxoxoxoxoxo