Fallen Warriors and a Runaway Horse

Eugène Delacroix French

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This late drawing of fallen warriors and a runaway horse shows how the fluidity of pen and ink enabled swift execution that could keep pace with Delacroix’s free-flowing "premières pensées" (first thoughts). The artist was generating ideas for two battle scenes when he made this drawing: "Botzaris Attacks the Turkish Camp" (1860−62; Toledo Museum of Art) and "Arabs Skirmishing in the Mountains" (1863; National Gallery of Art, Washington). Although the fleeing horse is the only moving subject in the foreground, the animated quality of line lends the sprawled figures a sense of vitality.

Fallen Warriors and a Runaway Horse, Eugène Delacroix (French, Charenton-Saint-Maurice 1798–1863 Paris), Pen and brown ink

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