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Sunset

ca. 1850
Not on view
Around 1849–50, Delacroix became captivated by the challenge of capturing the light effects of cloud formations and chose pastel to convey his impressions. While he used the medium throughout his career, the sky studies constitute his largest cohesive group in pastel. Delacroix’s sensitive analysis of color is evident both in the drawing and in a corresponding description of a sunset in his journal: "The gray of the clouds in the evenings verges on blue; the clear parts of the sky are bright yellow or orange. . . . The greater the contrast, the more brilliant the effect." He noted making such a drawing "with an eye to my ceiling," likely referring to his recent commission for the Apollo Gallery in the Louvre, which ultimately featured radiating sunbeams surrounding the central figure.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Sunset
  • Artist: Eugène Delacroix (French, Charenton-Saint-Maurice 1798–1863 Paris)
  • Date: ca. 1850
  • Medium: Pastel on blue laid paper
  • Dimensions: Overall: 8 1/16 x 10 3/16 in. (20.4 x 25.9 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Gift from the Karen B. Cohen Collection of Eugène Delacroix, in honor of Philippe de Montebello, 2014
  • Object Number: 2014.732.4
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

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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  • Detail from a colorful pastel drawing of a cloudy sunset.
    Materials and Techniques
    Pastel

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