Eugène Delacroix
1798-1863
Study for Demasthenes
ca. 1844
9 1/2x 11 1/2 inches (241 x 292 mm)
Oil on paper laid down on canvas
2008.29
Bequest of Alex Gordon.
Notes
The ancient Greek orator Demosthenes (384-322 BC) reportedly trained his voice by practicing on the seashore, talking over the roar of the waves while rolling pebbles in his mouth. When Delacroix was commissioned to paint the ceiling of the Deputies' library at the Palais Bourbon, Paris, he chose this subject to represent Eloquence. This sketch is for a spandrel of a cupola devoted to the theme of Law.
Gordon inv. G. 355.
Gordon inv. G. 355.
Associated names
Gordon, Alex, former owner.
Bibliography
Robaut, no. 871, p. 224; Johnson, vol. 5, no. 536.
Artist
Classification
Century Drawings
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