LONDON Feb 22 (People's Daily Online)—— Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) was the pre-eminent French artist of the first half of the 19th century – complex, contradictory, a rebel, and an outsider. He paved the way for new styles of painting such as Impressionism with liberating colour and technique from traditional rules and practices. Delacroix was the very engine of revolution that helped transform the art of French painting in the 19th century.
Few artists had more of a profound and lasting influence on his contemporaries and future generations. Upon his death in 1863, he was the most revered artist in Paris. Baudelaire described the artist as, 'A poet in painting‛ while Cézanne observed, 'We all paint in Delacroix’s language‛. Arguably he was the most influential artist of his era.
This landmark exhibition, the first presentation of Delacroix’s art in Britain for more than 50 years, will explore Delacroix’s influence on his contemporaries, such as Chassériau, Courbet, and Géricault and subsequently the later artists who found inspiration in his art, including Manet, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Renoir, Matisse and Kandinsky. Delacroix was the idol of many famous artist.
'Delacroix and the Rise of Modern Art' includes over 60 works borrowed from 30 major public and private collections around the world. Works by Delacroix will be displayed alongside works by his contemporaries and later admirers who followed in his footsteps. The paintings will be displayed thematically to explore Delacroix’s work in context and to illustrate his influence in transforming the art of French painting in the 19th century. The themes explored will include: Orientalism; religious, literary and historical narratives; and animals, flowers and aestheticism. (Bai Tianxing)
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