Scene from the Romance of Amadis de Gaule (Primary Title)
Eugène Delacroix, French, 1798 - 1863 (Artist)
More than any other mid nineteenth-century artist, Delacroix personified the mature style of Romanticism, founded on the use of brilliant color and fluid handling of paint that recalled earlier artists such as Peter Paul Rubens and Titian. This subject derives from a 14th-century Iberian tale in which a handsome and noble young knight navigates his way through witches, wizards, and an assortment of treachery and danger to prove his love to the beautiful Princess Oriana. Delacroix’s invention of the subject does not correspond to an exact episode in the story, though the resulting painting is convincingly dramatic.
Signed and dated lower left: Eug. Delacroix 1860
Adolph D. and Wilkins C. Williams Fund
"Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863)", musée du Louvre, March 26 - July 23, 2018; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, September 12, 2018 - January 6, 2019
The Last Years of Eugène Delacroix, Grand Palais, Paris, France, April 7 - July 20, 1998; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, September 10, 1998 - January 3, 1999
Romance and Chivalry: History & Literature Reflected in Early 19th Century French Paintings, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleasn, LA, June 22 - August 25, 1996; Stair Sainty Matthiesen Gallery, New York, NY, September 25 - November 11, 1996; Taft Museum, Cincinnati, OH, December 13, 1996 - February 9, 1997
Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863): Paintings and Drawings, Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640): Three Oil Sketches, Salander O’Reilly Galleries, New York, NY, November 15, 1989 - January 27, 1990
Eugène Delacroix, Kunsthaus, Zurich, June 5 - August 23, 1987; Stadtische Galerie, Frankfurt am Main, September 24, 1987 - January 10, 1988; Palacio de Villahermosa, Prado Museum, Madrid, March 2 - April 20, 1988
19th Century French Painting from the Virginia Museum, Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts, Roanoke, VA, February 11 - March 12, 1978
Color, Artmobile, Virginia Musuem of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, April 1974
Reality, Fantasy and Flesh: Traditions in 19th Century Art, University of Kentucky Art Gallery, Lexington, KY, October 28 - November 18, 1973
Eugène Delacroix, Municipal Museum, Kyoto, Japan, May 10 - June 8, 1969; National Museum, Tokyo, Japan, June 14 - August 3, 1969
Seventy-five Masterworks: 75th Anniversary Exhibition, The Portland Art Association, Portland, OR, December 12, 1967 - January 21, 1968
The Williams Collection, Artmobile, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, 1965
Masterpieces from American Museums, The John and Mabel Ringling Museum, Sarasota, FL, January 15 - February 12, 1967
Eugène Delacroix, 1798-1863: Exposition du Centenaire, Musée du Louvre, Paris, May -September, 1963
Delacroix, Art Gallery of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, December 1, 1962 - January 7, 1963; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, January 12 - February 9, 1963
Lynchburg Fine Arts Center, Lynchburg, VA, September 23 - October 15, 1962
Roanoke Fine Arts Center, Roanoke, VA, April 1961
Modern French Painting, Norfolk Museum, Norfolk, VA, March 1 - 26, 1958
Kunsthaus, Zurich, 1939
Kunsthaus, Zurich, 1919-1920
Exposition de Chefs d’Oeuvre de l’Ecole Francaise, Georges Petit, Paris, May 2 - 31, 1910
The Last Years of Eugène Delacroix, Grand Palais, Paris, France, April 7 - July 20, 1998; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA, September 10, 1998 - January 3, 1999
Romance and Chivalry: History & Literature Reflected in Early 19th Century French Paintings, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleasn, LA, June 22 - August 25, 1996; Stair Sainty Matthiesen Gallery, New York, NY, September 25 - November 11, 1996; Taft Museum, Cincinnati, OH, December 13, 1996 - February 9, 1997
Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863): Paintings and Drawings, Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640): Three Oil Sketches, Salander O’Reilly Galleries, New York, NY, November 15, 1989 - January 27, 1990
Eugène Delacroix, Kunsthaus, Zurich, June 5 - August 23, 1987; Stadtische Galerie, Frankfurt am Main, September 24, 1987 - January 10, 1988; Palacio de Villahermosa, Prado Museum, Madrid, March 2 - April 20, 1988
19th Century French Painting from the Virginia Museum, Roanoke Museum of Fine Arts, Roanoke, VA, February 11 - March 12, 1978
Color, Artmobile, Virginia Musuem of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, April 1974
Reality, Fantasy and Flesh: Traditions in 19th Century Art, University of Kentucky Art Gallery, Lexington, KY, October 28 - November 18, 1973
Eugène Delacroix, Municipal Museum, Kyoto, Japan, May 10 - June 8, 1969; National Museum, Tokyo, Japan, June 14 - August 3, 1969
Seventy-five Masterworks: 75th Anniversary Exhibition, The Portland Art Association, Portland, OR, December 12, 1967 - January 21, 1968
The Williams Collection, Artmobile, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, 1965
Masterpieces from American Museums, The John and Mabel Ringling Museum, Sarasota, FL, January 15 - February 12, 1967
Eugène Delacroix, 1798-1863: Exposition du Centenaire, Musée du Louvre, Paris, May -September, 1963
Delacroix, Art Gallery of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, December 1, 1962 - January 7, 1963; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, January 12 - February 9, 1963
Lynchburg Fine Arts Center, Lynchburg, VA, September 23 - October 15, 1962
Roanoke Fine Arts Center, Roanoke, VA, April 1961
Modern French Painting, Norfolk Museum, Norfolk, VA, March 1 - 26, 1958
Kunsthaus, Zurich, 1939
Kunsthaus, Zurich, 1919-1920
Exposition de Chefs d’Oeuvre de l’Ecole Francaise, Georges Petit, Paris, May 2 - 31, 1910
Collection of the artist; purchased by Claudius Gérentet, St. Etienne, Loire, France in January of 1860; [1] (Galerie Tempelaere, Paris) in 1898; [2] (Arnold & Tripp, Paris) in 1898; (Knoedler & Co., New York) in 1899; Purchased byMr. H.S. Henry, Philadelphia in August of 1899; [3] (I. Montaignac, Paris) in January of 1907. [4] Collection of Charles Viguier, Paris by 1910. Collection of Eugène Blot, Paris. Collection of Dr. H. Graber, Zurich by 1939. (Raeber Gallery, Basel), no date. [5] Private collection, Basel. (Knoedler & Co., New York) by 1954; Purchased by Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA), Richmond, Virginia in February of 1957. [6]
[1] Information from Knoedler & Co., New York indicates that the painting was made for Gérentet and was in his possession from 1860 until 1898. Delacroix wrote a letter to Gérentet about the painting dated January 4, 1860.
[2] Gustave Tempelaere was an art dealer and owner of Galerie Tempelaere, Paris. He purchased the painting at St. Etienne in 1898 and almost immediately resold it to Arnold & Tripp, Paris.
[3] Recorded in the collection catalogue of Mr. H.S. Henry as "The Release of the Princess Olga." See Notable Paintings Collected by Mr. H.S. Henry (New York: American Art Galleries, 1907), np.
[4] Purchased at the sale of January 25, 1907, Lot 15. See the catalogue, Notable Paintings Collected by Mr. H.S. Henry (New York: American Art Galleries, 1907), np.
[5] Raeber Gallery in Basel is listed in provenance in: Nadia Tscherny and Guy Stair Sainty, Romance and Chivalry: History and Literature in Early Nineteenth-Century French Painting, exh. cat. London, The Mattheisen Inc., 1996, p. 255. There is a notation of Inv. 44435 as from a label on the stretcher. This needs to be confirmed and researchedfurther to clarify dates in Basel.
[6] Accessioned February 11, 1957. Information in VMFA Curatorial and Registration records.
[1] Information from Knoedler & Co., New York indicates that the painting was made for Gérentet and was in his possession from 1860 until 1898. Delacroix wrote a letter to Gérentet about the painting dated January 4, 1860.
[2] Gustave Tempelaere was an art dealer and owner of Galerie Tempelaere, Paris. He purchased the painting at St. Etienne in 1898 and almost immediately resold it to Arnold & Tripp, Paris.
[3] Recorded in the collection catalogue of Mr. H.S. Henry as "The Release of the Princess Olga." See Notable Paintings Collected by Mr. H.S. Henry (New York: American Art Galleries, 1907), np.
[4] Purchased at the sale of January 25, 1907, Lot 15. See the catalogue, Notable Paintings Collected by Mr. H.S. Henry (New York: American Art Galleries, 1907), np.
[5] Raeber Gallery in Basel is listed in provenance in: Nadia Tscherny and Guy Stair Sainty, Romance and Chivalry: History and Literature in Early Nineteenth-Century French Painting, exh. cat. London, The Mattheisen Inc., 1996, p. 255. There is a notation of Inv. 44435 as from a label on the stretcher. This needs to be confirmed and researchedfurther to clarify dates in Basel.
[6] Accessioned February 11, 1957. Information in VMFA Curatorial and Registration records.
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.
