Eugène Delacroix

Eugène Delacroix showed talent for drawing and music from childhood, and at 17 he entered the studio of the Neoclassical painter Guérin, where Géricault was a fellow student. In these years he copied works by Goya and Rubens, and drew his subjects from literature by Dante, Shakespeare, and Byron.

The hallmarks of Delacroix's art are the brilliance of his color and the expression of feeling. His revolutionary work opened the way to modern painting and is said to have led the way for Impressionism. Among his best-known works are Liberty Leading the People and The Death of Sardanapalus (both Louvre Museum). In Japan, his Don Quixote in His Study and Circassian Holding a Horse's Reins are held.

Eugène Delacroix was born on April 26, 1798 and died on August 13, 1863.