Was Eugène Delacroix the father of modern art?
Eugène Delacroix was the leading artist of the French Romantic period, a master of colour whose painting and writing influenced Renoir, Manet, Pissarro, Gauguin, Cezanne and many others. WILLIAM COOK visits a new exhibition at the National Gallery in London, which asks whether modern art would have happened without him.Would modern art have happened without Delacroix? That’s the question at the heart of this new show at London’s National Gallery. And on the evidence of these dynamic paintings, the answer is: no, probably not.
Delacroix was the enfant terrible of early 19th Century French art. He shunned the conservative conventions of France’s academic art establishment. A rebel with a cause, he inspired a generation of great artists. Impressionism and Post-Impressionism are inconceivable without him. ‘We all paint in Delacroix’s language,’ said Cezanne. ‘You can find us all in Delacroix.’ more info: BBC World
