Art is the Solution

Women of Algiers Source: Wikimedia Commons There are few Romantic artists more famous than the great French painter Eugène Delacroix. Like all Romantic artists, Delacroix’s work is expressive, filled with emotion, spiritual energy, and visual drama. He was also interested in seeking authenticity within artistic expression, which Delacroix sought in Eastern cultures, a trend in art known as Orientalism. Orientalist painting emerged in Europe in the nineteenth century. It typically involved depicting sensational or stereotypical depictions of Eastern or Middle Eastern cultures. Generally, Western artists found these cultures to be more “primitive” or authentic, which made them of artistic interest. While Orientalist art reflects a deeply flawed understanding of non-Western cultures and intense ethnocentrism, Delacroix truly believed he was looking for truth in his art. He explores this idea through his monumental piece Women of Algiers . As the Louvre (which owns the painting) notes , “T...

Orphan Girl at the Cemetery Source: Wikimedia Commons There’s a high likelihood that you’ve never heard the name Eugène Delacroix, but I can assure you that you’ve seen his work before. His famed Liberty Leading the People is now seen as the seminal image of the French revolution (I guarantee that you’ve seen it in your high school history textbooks). Today, Delacroix is regarded as one of the foremost painters of the nineteenth century and as one of the leaders of the Romantic movement. Like all Romantic artists, Delacroix’s work is expressive, filled with emotion, spiritual energy, and visual drama. Although it is not his most famous painting, I think Orphan Girl at the Cemetery is one of the finest examples of Delacroix’s emotive and imaginative style. According to my research, this painting is probably a study (a preparatory sketch or painting) for one of Delacroix’s other masterpieces, The Massacre at Chios, which depicts a massacre perpetrated by Ottoman soldiers against Greek...