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The Giaour on Horseback (recto); Study of a Woman with Head and Arms Thrown Back, and Study of the Head of an Old Man (verso)

1824–26
Not on view
This dynamic study of a Venetian warrior (the Giaour) furiously racing after his beloved's killer, Hassan, was inspired by Byron's poem "The Giaour, a Fragment of a Turkish Tale," first published in 1813. Fascinated by this romance of passion and violence, Delacroix repeatedly portrayed the fatal combat between the Muslim master of the harem girl Leila and her avenging lover.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Giaour on Horseback (recto); Study of a Woman with Head and Arms Thrown Back, and Study of the Head of an Old Man (verso)
  • Artist: Eugène Delacroix (French, Charenton-Saint-Maurice 1798–1863 Paris)
  • Date: 1824–26
  • Medium: Pen and iron gall ink, brush and brown wash, over graphite
  • Dimensions: Overall: 7 15/16 x 12 in. (20.1 x 30.5 cm)
  • Classification: Drawings
  • Credit Line: Gift from the Karen B. Cohen Collection of Eugène Delacroix, in honor of Jane Roberts, 2015
  • Object Number: 2015.713.2
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

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Sunset
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Ceramic Horn, Glazed pottery, French
Ceramic Horn
French
late 18th or early 19th century
La table servie, Jacques Villon French, Graphite and black ink, squared in graphite, French
La table servie
Jacques Villon
1912
The Abduction of Rebecca, Eugène Delacroix French, Oil on canvas
The Abduction of Rebecca
Eugène Delacroix
1846
Édouard Manet, Seated, Holding His Hat, Edgar Degas French, Graphite and black chalk
Édouard Manet, Seated, Holding His Hat
Edgar Degas
Sitter Edouard Manet
ca. 1868

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