Delacroix, Eugene

Eugene Delacroix was born in the suburbs of Paris on April 26, 1798 . His father was officially considered politician, former foreign minister, but there were persistent rumors that in fact Eugene was the illegitimate son of the all-powerful Charles Talleyrand , Napoleon’s foreign minister, and later the head of the French delegation at the historic Congress of Vienna 1814 - 1815 years . Sometimes fatherhood was attributed to Napoleon himself. Whatever it was, but the boy grew up a real tomboy. A childhood friend of the artist, Alexander Dumas , recalled that “by the age of three, Eugene had already hung himself up, burned, sank and poisoned himself”. It is necessary to add to this phrase: Eugen almost “hanged himself” by accidentally wrapping around the neck the bag from which the horses were fed with oats; “Burned” when a mosquito net flashed over his crib; "Drowned" while swimming in Bordeaux; He was “poisoned” by swallowing up the paints.

The years of study at the Lyceum of Louis the Great turned out to be calmer, where the boy showed great ability in literature and painting and even received prizes for drawing and knowledge of classical literature. Eugène could inherit artistic inclinations from his mother, Victoria, who came from a family of famous cabinetmakers; but a real passion for painting originated in him in Normandy - there he usually accompanied his uncle when he set off to draw from life ^[8] .

Delacroix early had to think about their future. Eugene was then sent to her sister. But she soon fell into a difficult financial situation. In 1815, the young man was left to himself; he had to decide how to live on. And he made his choice by enrolling in the workshop of the famous classicist Pierre Narcis Guerin (1774–1833). In 1816, Delacroix became a student of the School of Fine Arts , where Guerin taught. Academism reigned here, and Eugène tirelessly wrote plaster casts and nude models. These lessons helped the artist to master the technique of drawing perfectly. But the real universities for Delacroix were the Louvre and communication with the young painter Theodore Gericault . In the Louvre, he was fascinated by the works of old masters. At that time, there were many paintings captured during the Napoleonic wars and not yet returned to their owners. Most emerging artists attracted great colorists - Rubens , Veronese and Titian . Bonington , in turn, introduced Delacroix to English watercolor and the works of Shakespeare and Byron . But Theodore Géricault had the greatest influence on Delacroix.

In 1818, Gericault worked on the painting "The Raft of Medusa" , which initiated the French romanticism. Delacroix, who posed for his friend, witnessed the birth of a composition that breaks all the usual ideas about painting. Later, Delacroix recalled that after seeing the finished picture, he "delightedly rushed to run like a madman, and could not stop right up to the house."

The first picture of Delacroix was " Ladie Dante " ( 1822 ), exhibited by him in the Salon. However, it didn’t cause much noise (like at least the furore that Gericot's Raft made). This success came to Delacroix two years later, when in 1824 he showed his “ Chios Massacre ” at the Salon, describing the horrors of the recent Greek war for independence. Baudelaire called this painting "a terrible hymn to fate and suffering." Many critics have also accused Delacroix of excessive naturalism . However, the main goal was achieved: a young artist declared himself.

The next work, exhibited in the Salon , was called “ Death of Sardanapala ”, he seemed to deliberately angry with his detractors, almost savoring the cruelty and not avoiding certain sexuality. The plot of the picture Delacroix borrowed from Byron . “The movement was transmitted beautifully,” one of the critics wrote about his other, similar work, “but this picture literally screams, threatens and boguchulstvuet.”

The last big picture, which can be attributed to the first period of creativity Delacroix, the artist dedicated to modernity.

In July 1830, Paris rebelled against the Bourbon monarchy . Delacroix sympathized with the rebels, and this was reflected in his Freedom Leading the People ( we also know this work under the name Freedom on the Barricades ). Exhibited in the Salon of 1831 , the canvas caused the rapid approval of the public. The new government bought the painting, but at the same time immediately ordered to remove it, its pathos seemed too dangerous.

By this time, the role of the rebel seems to have bothered Delacroix. The search for a new style has become obvious. In 1832, the artist was included in the official diplomatic mission sent on a visit to Morocco . Going on this journey, Delacroix could not even think how much the trip would affect all his further work. The African world, which he saw in his fantasies as flowery, noisy and festive, appeared before his eyes quiet, patriarchal, immersed in his household worries, sorrows and joys. It was an ancient world lost in time, resembling Greece . In Morocco, Delacroix made hundreds of sketches, and further impressions gained on this journey served him as an inexhaustible source of inspiration. The painting "Arabs playing chess" was written 15 years after the trip and reflects certain stylistic elements of the Persian and Indian miniatures.

Upon his return to France, his position was consolidated. Official orders followed. The first monumental work of this kind were murals made in the Bourbon Palace ( 1833 - 1847 ) ^[9] . After that, Delacroix worked on decorating the Luxembourg Palace ( 1840 - 1847 ) and painting the ceilings in the Louvre ( 1850 - 1851 ). He devoted twelve years to the creation of frescoes for the church of Saint-Sulpice ( 1849 - 1861 ).

The artist treated the work on the frescoes with great enthusiasm. “My heart,” he wrote, “always begins to beat when I stand face to face with a huge wall waiting for the touch of my brush.” With age, the productivity of Delacroix decreased. In 1835, he discovered a serious throat disease, which, now subsiding, then becoming aggravated, eventually led him to the grave. Delacroix did not shy away from public life, constantly attending various meetings, receptions and famous salons in Paris . Waited for his appearance - the artist always shone with a sharp mind and was distinguished by the elegance of costume and manners. At the same time, his private life remained hidden from prying eyes. For many years, continued relationship with Baroness Josephine de Forget , but their romance was not crowned with a wedding.

In the 1850s, his recognition became undeniable. In 1851, the artist was elected to the city council of Paris; in 1855, he was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor . In the same year Delacroix personal exhibition was organized - in the framework of the Paris World Exhibition . The artist himself was upset a lot, seeing that the public knew him from his old works, and only they cause her constant interest. The last painting by Delacroix, exhibited at the Salon of 1859 , and the frescoes completed in 1861 for the church of Saint-Sulpice went almost unnoticed.

This cooling darkened the sunset of Delacroix, who quietly and imperceptibly died from a relapse of the throat in his Parisian house on August 13, 1863 at the age of 65, and was buried at the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris .

• In the Louvre there is a whole picture hall - Delacroix Hall ^[10] .
• A crater on Mercury is named after Delacroix.
• British rock band Coldplay used the work of Delacroix in the design of the albums Viva la Vida or Death His All Friends and Prospekt's March ^[11] .

The Eugene Delacroix National Museum, also known as the Delacroix Museum, is located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris , on Fürstenberg Street 6. It is open every day except Tuesday, with an entrance fee of 6 euros.

The museum is located in the house where Delacroix’s last apartment is located: he moved there on December 28, 1857 and lived there until his death on August 13, 1863. In 1929, the heritage society of the artist was organized (Société Des Amis d'Eugène Delacroix), which acquired the museum building in 1952, which was in disrepair by that time. In 1954 the building was transferred to the French government. In 1971 it became the National Museum, and in 1999 the surrounding garden was reconstructed. The French artist Leon Prentan also lived and worked in this building until his death on July 9, 1945.

• Based on materials from the book "Encyclopedia of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism" / Comp. T. G. Petrovets. - M .: OLMA-PRESS, 2000. –320 pp., Ill.
• Used materials: "Art Gallery. Delacroix, No. 25, 2005.
• Benzoni. J. E. Delacroix. Based on materials from the book "Wolfs Lozarga", 2010.
• Bulgakov, F. I. Eugene Delacroix // One Hundred Masterpieces of Art. - SPb. : ed. ed. “New Journal of Foreign Literature”, 1903. - p. 27-28.
• Gastev A. A. Delacroix. - M .: Young Guard, 1966. - 224 p. - ( ЖЗЛ ; Вып. 427). - 115 000 copies
• Goykhman EG. Eugene Delacroix's creativity and the image of the Middle Ages in the art of romanticism of the turn of the 1820-1830s // Actual problems of theory and art history : Coll. scientific articles. Issue 3. / Ed. S. V. Maltseva, E. Yu. Stanyukovich-Denisova. - SPb .: NP-Print, 2013. P. 450—457. - ISSN 2312-2129
• Dyakov L. A. E. Delacroix. M., 1973.
• Kozhina E. F. Eugene Delacroix. Album. M., 1961.
• Prokofiev, V.N. Delacroix - theorist, critic, art historian // Eugene Delacroix. Thoughts on art. About famous artists. - M. , 1960.
• Sitnik, K.A.E. Delacroix. - M. L. , 1947.

• Delacroix, Ferdinand-Victor-Eugene // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extras). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Collection of paintings: 1817–1826
• The life and work of Eugene Delacroix on the site Pictures of the Impressionists
• Website about Eugene Delacroix
• Charles Baudelaire - Creativity and Life of Eugene Delacroix
• Theophile Gauthier. From the book Portraits of the Day. Eugene delacroix