delacroix

Delacroix is a French surname meaning “of the cross,” derived from de la Croix. The name is most often associated with the 19th‑century painter Eugène Delacroix, who became a leading figure of French Romanticism in art.

Eugène Delacroix was born in 1798 in Charenton-Saint-Maurice, near Paris. He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris and in the studio of Pierre-Narcisse Guérin. Delacroix developed a dynamic, color‑driven approach that emphasized movement, emotion, and dramatic lighting, helping to shift the focus of painting away from strict Neoclassical restraint toward expressive, Romantic themes. His work drew on contemporary events, literature, and exotic subjects, as well as historical scenes.

Among his best‑known paintings are Liberty Leading the People (1830), Massacre at Chios (1824), The Death of Sardanapalus (1827), and The Women of Algiers in their Apartment (1834). His compositions are noted for vigorous brushwork, luminous color harmonies, and a willingness to depict intense human experience, often framed within vivid, cinematic tableaux.

Delacroix’s influence extended beyond his own generation, shaping the French Romantic tradition and inspiring later artists to pursue color, spontaneity, and expressive freedom. The surname remains associated with French art and culture, but Eugène Delacroix stands as the most prominent bearer of the name.