Friday, April 4, 2014

D = Delacroix, Eugène - 2014 A to Z Blog Challenge

ART: Artists, Art Trivia, Art Legends

A glimpse of the ART world, in the manner of an alphabetical mini-art tour. ART focuses on my selection of the artists and the art style movements from the end of the 1800's and into the first half of the 1900's. There are exceptions, such as this one.



Eugène Delacroix, 1822, Early portrait, PD*-WC


D = Delacroix,  Eugène  
1798 - 1863

French painter Eugène Delacroix, regarded as the leader of the French Romantics, was the nemesis of Ingres**, according to sources.  Delacroix' s brushstrokes and optical effects of color had a major influence on the work of the Impressionists, while his passion for the exotic inspired the Symbolist artists. As a lithographer, he illustrated various selected works of William Shakespeare, Walter Scott, and Johann W. von Goethe.

Delacroix was inspired by the art of Rubens and the painters of the Venetian Renaissance. Drama and romantic content were his central themes. Delacroix's most influential work was Liberty Leading the People, a painting from 1830. The painting and what it depicted raised a few concerns.

** Ingres will appear as the A to Z artist on April 10th.
 

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English: Liberty Leading the People, 1830

French: La Liberté guidant le people


Liberty Leading the People, Eugène Delacroix, Louvre,  PD*-WC


In the Romantic style painting above of the July 28, 1830, French Revolution (also called the July Revolution), we see a 'constructed' scene. Liberty, the allegorical goddess-figure is shown leading the charge. Some sources say the figure in the top hat on the left of the painting is Delacroix. Artist license? Perhaps, but knowing that it might be the artist adds interest. He was evoking contemporary events of his time by using the romantic image of the spirit of Liberty.

The French government purchased the painting in 1830, but deemed its glorification of liberty too inflammatory and removed it from public view. Note: we saw this painting in 2010 in the Louvre museum in Paris, its traditional home. Since 2012, however, this painting is on exhibit at another gallery in Lens, Pas-de-Calais, France.


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Are you familiar with the work of Delacroix? What do you think of paintings that commemorate historical events? Do you care if they are accurate? Does artistic license allow the artist to indicate his own feelings on the matter?

Please let me know you were here in the comments. Thanks for dropping by!

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Brought to you by the A to Z Blog Challenge 2014 Team and the originator: Lee of Tossing it Out. Click the A to Z list of participants and read on. Hope to see you again throughout the blogfest.



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Image Credits

PD*-WC July Column and Eugène Delacroix  sketch:

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Image Credit

PD*-WC  Liberty Leading the People

This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons. Commons is a freely licensed media file repository. . . This file is in use by a Wikimedia project which requires the file to be completely unchanged, including updates, minor improvements, and error corrections.
 
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