Romanticism, history and energy of conflict · 1798 -1863

From Poitiers to Taillebourg, from Giaour to Liberté in 1830, Delacroix made combat a collision of colors, bodies and memories where history becomes immediate experience.

Eugène Delacroix was born in 1798 and died in Paris in 1863. The battle spanned his entire career because it brought together history, literature, animals, movement and passion. Delacroix does not seek to draw up a neutral military survey. He selects a node of action capable of making the instability of the conflict felt. The Battle of Poitiers, commissioned in 1829 and painted in 1830, represents King John at the heart of the fight of September 19, 1356. The Battle of Poitiers, commissioned in 1829 and painted in 1830, represents King John at the heart of the fight of September 19, 1356. The Battle of Poitiers, commissioned in 1829 and painted in 1830, represents King John at the heart of the fight of September 19, 1356. Horses, weapons and figures are organized diagonally rather than by documentary alignment. The Battle of Taillebourg, presented at the Salon of 1837 for the historic galleries of Versailles, amplifies this method: Saint Louis emerges in a melee where the colors and gestures concentrate violence. The battles of the Giaour, inspired by Byron from 1824, shift history towards romantic poetry and personal dueling. Liberty Leading the People finally transforms the days of July 1830 into both contemporary and allegorical images. The dead in the foreground, the crowd and the flag build a moving pyramid. Delacroix studies his battles through numerous drawings, washes and sketches. Color therefore does not intervene without preparation; it animates a thought structure, opposes complementary tones and connects sky, dust, flesh and fabric. The color therefore does not intervene without preparation; it animates a thought structure, opposes complementary tones and connects sky, dust, flesh and fabric. The post-battle scenes therefore do not intervene without preparation; it animates a thought structure, opposes complementary tones and connects sky, dust, flesh and fabric. The post-battle scenes therefore do not intervene without preparation; it animates a thought structure, opposes complementary tones and connects sky, dust, flesh and fabric. The post-battle scenes therefore do not intervene without preparation; it animates a thought structure, opposes complementary tones and connects sky, dust, flesh and fabric. The post-battle scenes therefore do not intervene without preparation; it animates a thought structure, opposes complementary tones and connects sky, dust, flesh and fabric. The post-b gives way to ruins and bodies. The selection "Battles and combats of Eugène Delacroix" notably compares the Battle of Poitiers - Eugène Delacroix and the Battle of Taillebourg won by Saint-Louis (July 21, 1242) - Eugène Delacroix. His reading favors drawing.

For Delacroix, the battle is not a military plan: it is a clash of diagonals, colors and passions that makes the story physically present.