Eugène DELACROIX (Paris 1798-1863) Lot n° 1

Studies for the Murder of Archimedes, pendant from the Palais Bourbon Library Black pencil 25 x 36.5 cm Studio stamp (L.838a) later taken over Annotation at the top: "(...) also" Some stains, pasted in full Study drawing comprising five repeats for the study of the murderer surrounding the pensive figure of Archimedes. Paul de Saint-Victor wrote in 1863 about this motif with this insightful comment: "There is nothing so striking as this silent murder, unnoticed by the victim; the abstract man is struck by the material man, the thought is killed by the brutal fact. (see Lee Johnson, "The paintings of Eugène Delacroix; The public decorations and their sketches", volume V, Oxford, 1989, The Clarendon Press, No. 545, pp.65-66). To be meditated in these times of deconstruction of our civilization...