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The Education of Achilles

ca. 1844
Not on view
The young Achilles, hero of Greek mythology, rides on the back of the centaur Chiron in this sketch for the library of the Palais Bourbon. The pair bound away from the viewer as Chiron instructs Achilles in the art of the hunt. The heavily reworked contour lines show Delacroix’s search for the desired form. The artist’s indication of several possible positions for the centaur’s legs contributes to the sense of movement in the drawing.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Education of Achilles
  • Artist: Eugène Delacroix (French, Charenton-Saint-Maurice 1798–1863 Paris)
  • Date: ca. 1844
  • Medium: Graphite
  • Dimensions: Overall: 9 5/16 x 11 11/16 in. (23.6 x 29.7 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Gift from the Karen B. Cohen Collection of Eugène Delacroix, in honor of Emily Rafferty, 2014
  • Object Number: 2014.732.3
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

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Studies of Horses, Eugène Delacroix French, Graphite and traces of brown ink on laid paper
Studies of Horses
Eugène Delacroix
A Bearded Man, Standing, and a Classical Head, Eugène Delacroix French, Pen and brown ink on tracing paper (mounted on heavy wove paper)
A Bearded Man, Standing, and a Classical Head
Eugène Delacroix
1815–63
Les Français peints par eux-mêmes encyclopédie morale du dix-neuvième siècle. Paris, L. Curmer, 1840-1842.
Eugène Delacroix
19th century
La Pietà, Eugène Delacroix French, Etching on chine collé; second state of two
La Pietà
Multiple artists/makers
1852
Studies of a Goat, Eugène Delacroix French, Graphite on wove paper
Studies of a Goat
Eugène Delacroix
1798–1863

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