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Studies of the Virgin and Holy Women for "The Lamentation"

1842–43
Not on view
Working in a linear mode, Delacroix here used a hard, sharp pencil to explore postures for a painting of the Lamentation in the recently built church of Saint-Denys-du-Saint-Sacrement in Paris. Rather than sketching the figures from life, he drew on his knowledge of a striking Pietà by Italian Mannerist painter Rosso Fiorentino (1530–40; Louvre). In Delacroix’s final composition, completed in just seventeen days, he reversed the orientation of the figures. After being asked to switch chapels at a late stage, he needed to accommodate a light source from the opposite side.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title:
    Studies of the Virgin and Holy Women for "The Lamentation"
  • Artist:
    Eugène Delacroix (French, Charenton-Saint-Maurice 1798–1863 Paris)
  • Date:
    1842–43
  • Medium:
    Graphite
  • Dimensions:
    Overall: 9 3/4 x 14 5/16 in. (24.7 x 36.3 cm)
  • Classification:
    Drawings
  • Credit Line:
    Gift from the Karen B. Cohen Collection of Eugène Delacroix, in honor of Carmen Bambach, 2013
  • Object Number:
    2013.1135.25
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

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Studies of Horses
Eugène Delacroix (French, Charenton-Saint-Maurice 1798–1863 Paris)
A Bearded Man, Standing, and a Classical Head
Eugène Delacroix (French, Charenton-Saint-Maurice 1798–1863 Paris)
1815–63
Les Français peints par eux-mêmes encyclopédie morale du dix-neuvième siècle. Paris, L. Curmer, 1840-1842.
Eugène Delacroix (French, Charenton-Saint-Maurice 1798–1863 Paris)
19th century
La Pietà
After Eugène Delacroix (French, Charenton-Saint-Maurice 1798–1863 Paris)
1852
Studies of a Goat
Eugène Delacroix (French, Charenton-Saint-Maurice 1798–1863 Paris)
1798–1863

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