Oil Paint
Oil paint is a slow-drying art medium made with pigment and a drying-oil binder that allows extended working time, smooth blending, and layered application.
Painter
Eugène Delacroix
Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic painter known for dramatic history paintings, expressive color, energetic brushwork, 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.
| 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 |
| Painting surfaces | Canvas · Paper |
| 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 |
| Drawing materials | Graphite, charcoal, and ink alongside watercolor studies |
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
Delacroix painted large histories in oil and used watercolor with gouache for portable studies, literary subjects, and scenes observed during travel.
Watercolor Paint
Watercolor paint is a water-based art medium made with pigment and a water-soluble binder, typically applied in transparent washes on absorbent paper.
Gouache Paint
Gouache paint is an opaque, water-based art medium made with pigment and a water-soluble binder, drying to a matte finish that can be reactivated with water.
Surface types used
Canvas supported Delacroix's major oil paintings, while paper carried his watercolor and gouache studies of people, coasts, and color.
Canvas
Canvas is a woven fabric support, commonly cotton or linen, used for painting and sold either raw or prepared with a compatible ground layer.
Paper
Paper is an absorbent sheet material made from pressed fibers, with weight, sizing, and surface texture controlling moisture tolerance and paint behavior.
Painters similar to Eugène Delacroix
Turner and Delacroix were major Romantic colorists whose very different subjects still share atmospheric effects and expressive handling.
J. M. W. Turner
J. M. W. Turner was a British Romantic artist known for landscapes, marine subjects, changing weather, and increasingly expressive treatments of light and color.