Mephistopheles Flying, from Faust
1828
Medium
Lithograph in black on white wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 27 × 23 cm (10 11/16 × 9 1/16 in.); Sheet: 42.9 × 29 cm (16 15/16 × 11 7/16 in.)
Classification
lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
7408
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This nightime scene depicts the demon Mephistopheles flying above a cityscape. The stark contrasts of light and dark emphasize his ghoulish form, accentuated with sharp claws and toenails. This lithograph is the prologue to Eugène Delacroix’s series illustrating key episodes from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s drama Faust. An ambitious German scholar, Faust makes a deal with Mephistopheles to gain fame and fortune but, in return, Faust loses his soul and morality.
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...