Eugène Delacroix

Eugène Delacroix was a pupil of Baron Guérin, in whose studio Théodore Géricault also worked. Géricault apparently aroused Delacroix' interest in English painting and also his resistance to classicistic French painting. Delacroix was particularly interested in Rubens and the Italian art of Veronese. His work 'The barge of Dante' was well received at the 1822 Salon in Paris. When, however, the influence of Géricault and English painting became noticeable, the critics became less positive. They thought that Delacroix was undermining French painting tradition with his work. From 1830 onwards, Delacroix was granted an increasing number of large commissions. In addition to these commissions, Delacroix also painted many smaller, more colourful and freer works, with animals, battles and portraits of his friends.