DELACROIX, Eugène
(b. 1798, Charenton-Saint-Maurice, d. 1863, Paris)

Lion Hunt in Morocco

1854
Oil on canvas, 74 x 92 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

Delacroix visited Morocco in 1832 as part of a French delegation sent by King Louis-Philippe after the conquest of Algeria. His impressions of North Africa left their mark on all his subsequent work,and sketches he made during the journey formed the basis of a host of painted variations. Here the subject is stripped of exotic details and subordinated to the unbridled energy of painting that is founded on the contrast of complementary colours, which Delacroix was the first to employ consistently as a means of artistic expression.