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Eugène DELACROIX (Charenton-Saint-Maurice, 1798 - Paris, 1863)
The Death of Sardanapalus
1827
© Musée du Louvre/A. Dequier - M. Bard |
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Denon
1st Floor
Mollien. Romanticism
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The Death of Sardanapalus |
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Sardanapalus was a legendary Oriental king of Antiquity who ordered a sacrificial pyre to be built to expiate the shame of a military defeat. After ordering the massacre of all his women, slaves, and horses, he chose to burn to death on the pyre. Delacroix, always drawn to such extreme subjects, took the opportunity to paint a vision of horror.
The scene is one of utter chaos. Where is it taking place? Group the figures together in pairs – the king and his mistress, unconscious on the bed, the black slave pulling at the white horse on the left, the naked woman being stabbed by the man on the right. The figures are scattered across the canvas, making it difficult to find any visual coherence. Take a couple of steps back and half-close your eyes to see how the blocks of white, yellow, and red form a warm, bright splash across the canvas from left to right and from top to bottom. The lust for luxury and pleasure are reflected in the colorful objects, swathes of cloth, jewels, and the reeling bodies. The king’s emotionless expression is all the more shocking in the midst of such an orgy of violence. |
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The trail is now finished. Turn right and pass through room 77. Take lift K in room 76 down to the mezzanine level to return to the pyramid.
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