Profile of a 19th Century French Artist: Delacroix

One of the most prominent French artists of the 19^th Century was a painter by the name of Delacroix. His full name is Ferdinand-Victor-Eugene Delacroix, and he was born in the French city of Charenton-Saint-Maurice on April 26, 1798. He created more than 850 paintings, as well as pastel drawings and murals, before his death on August 13, 1863.

Many historical events were occurring during and around Delacroix's lifetime. One event that effected the artist and his country was the Greek War of Independence that took place from 1821-1829. Another prominent event was the French Revolution of 1830, which directly inspired Delacroix's work Liberty Leading the People. The Revolution took place at the end of July 1830, and was an uprising against Charles X.

Delacroix's work inspired many artists of different art movements. He directly influenced later Impressionists in France. But he is essentially known as a painter of the Romantic style.

Many factors influenced Delacroix's style in his art. One artist who greatly influenced him was Theodore Gericault. Delacroix met Gericault at Guerin's, which was a popular French school of art. He was instantly drawn to Gericault's artistic style and subject matter, and even posed for Gericault's famous painting The Raft of the Medusa. Another factor that deeply influenced Delacroix was his visit to North Africa and Morocco in 1832. Delacroix loved what he saw in Morocco. The exotic animals, colorful clothing, and Moorish people were to factor in a lot of his work after his visit. Even thirty years after his visit, Delacroix still returned to his memories of Morocco for artistic inspiration.

Although Delacroix used many mediums including pastel, charcoal and etching, he seemed to prefer working with oil on canvas.