Eugene Delacroix

Eugene Delacroix was the greatest French painter of the Romantic Movement. In spite of being hailed as the leader of the Romantic Movement, his predilection for exotic and emotionally charged subject-matter, and his open hostility with Ingres, Delacroix always claimed loyalty to the classical tradition. In his later career he became one of the most distinguished monumental mural painters. Delacroix's output was enormous. After his death his executors found more than 9,000 paintings, pastels, and drawings in his studio and he prided himself on the speed at which he worked, declaring 'If you are not skilful enough to sketch a man falling out of a window during the time it takes him to get from the fifth storey to the ground, then you will never be able to produce monumental work.' Among great painters he was also one of the finest writers on art. His influence, particularly through his use of colour, was prodigious, inspiring Renoir, Seurat, and van Gogh among others.