Fallen Horse and Dead Knight
c. 1827–1829
Medium
Graphite, with touches of stumping, on cream wove paper
Dimensions
24.9 × 31.7 cm (9 13/16 × 12 1/2 in.)
Classification
graphite
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
30948
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Numerous variations of this subject can be found throughout the work of Delacroix. The glistening skin and flamelike mane of the horse are common features in his lithographs of 1827-29. It is possible that this drawing is an illustration for Shakespeare's Henry VI.
About the Artist
Eugène Delacroix · 1798–1863
Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) stands as the defining figure of French Romanticism and a pivotal bridge to modernism. Born in Charenton-Saint-Maurice near Paris, he came from distinguished lineage—his mother descended from the prestigious Oeben-Riesener furniture dynasty, while persistent speculation suggested the statesman Talleyrand may have been his biological father, a theory supported by physic...