J. M. W. Turner
J. M. W. Turner was a British Romantic artist known for landscapes and marine subjects, using expressive light and color to convey weather and atmosphere.
Painter
Eugène Delacroix
Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic painter whose dramatic history scenes and expressive color appear in energetic oils and detailed watercolor studies.
Eugène Delacroix quick facts
Delacroix's oil paintings used vigorous brushwork and color contrasts, while his North African travels and coastal studies informed works on paper.
| Full name | Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix |
|---|---|
| Born | April 26, 1798 · Charenton-Saint-Maurice, France |
| Died | August 13, 1863 · Paris, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Movements | Romanticism |
| Paint types | Oil Paint · Watercolor Paint · Gouache Paint |
| Other media | Graphite, charcoal, and ink |
| Other materials | — |
| Painting surfaces | Canvas · Paper · Wood (oil panels) · Plaster (Saint-Sulpice murals) |
| Painting methods | Expressive brushwork and layered color in oils; watercolor washes and opaque gouache over graphite in works on paper |
| Common subjects | Historical conflict, literary scenes, horses, North African life, animals, and seascapes |
| Notable works | Liberty Leading the People · The Death of Sardanapalus · The Massacre at Chios · Women of Algiers in Their Apartment |
Sources: The Met: The Natchez, oil on canvas, The Met: The Sea at Dieppe, watercolor on paper, The Met: Mathurin Régnier, watercolor and gouache, The Met: North African watercolor study, National Gallery of Art: Flowers.
Paint types used by Eugène Delacroix
Delacroix used oil for large history paintings and watercolor or gouache for works on paper, where washes and opaque passages support separate studies.
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Oil paint
Delacroix painted The Natchez in oil on canvas, revisiting the composition over more than a decade before completing it for the 1835 Salon. The work documents oil in his large history painting practice, distinct from the watercolor and gouache studies he made on paper.
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Watercolor
Delacroix’s works on paper include transparent watercolor alone, as in The Sea at Dieppe, and mixed sheets such as Wild Horse Felled by a Tiger, where watercolor is combined with gouache and pen and ink. These records document the medium across studies and finished works on paper.
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Gouache
In Wild Horse Felled by a Tiger, Delacroix combined watercolor and gouache over pen and ink, with touches of gum arabic. The opaque bodycolor passages are separately identified from transparent watercolor. This mixed-media sheet documents gouache as a distinct paint in his works on paper.
Sources: The Met: The Natchez, oil on canvas, The Met: The Sea at Dieppe, watercolor on paper, The Met: Wild Horse Felled by a Tiger, watercolor and gouache over ink.
Painting surfaces used by Eugène Delacroix
Museum records identify canvas and paper among Eugène Delacroix’s supports; the examples below tie each material to specific works in collections.
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Canvas
Delacroix’s oil paintings, including The Natchez, are documented on canvas. The textile support carries his large narrative compositions, distinct from the paper used for watercolors and gouaches. Collection records identify canvas across multiple works, showing it as a principal support in his finished oil practice.
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Paper
Delacroix used paper for watercolors and gouaches, including The Sea at Dieppe and Wild Horse Felled by a Tiger. These sheets combine paint with drawing media and sometimes gum arabic. They document a separate practice from the oil paintings on canvas.
Sources: The Met: The Natchez, oil on canvas, The Met: The Sea at Dieppe, watercolor on paper, The Met: Mathurin Régnier, watercolor and gouache, The Met: North African watercolor study, National Gallery of Art: Flowers.
Painters similar to Eugène Delacroix
Turner and Delacroix were leading Romantic colorists whose different subjects nonetheless reveal atmospheric effects and expressive paint handling.