Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Sketch for the Battle of Poitiers
(18th and 19th Centuries )
Delacroix often preferred to depict subjects from France's medieval past rather than from Greek or Roman antiquity. At the Battle of Poitiers (1356), a decisive episode in the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453), John II of France was captured by the English forces led by Edward, prince of Wales, known as the Black Prince.
This preparatory sketch is for King John at the Battle of Poitiers, a large canvas now in the Louvre Museum, Paris. It was commissioned by the duchess of Berry, the daughter-in-law of France's last Bourbon monarch, Charles X. This sketch typifies the bold brushwork and vivid colors associated with Delacroix's early work.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Delacroix Sale, Paris, February 16-19, 1864, no. 54; Baron de Laage, 1864, by purchase; N. V. Diaz Sale, Paris, January 25, 1877, no. 323; Baron de Beurnonville Sale, Paris, April 29, 1880, no. 14; Hector Brame, Paris, 1880, by purchase; Hector Brame Sale, Paris, 1885, no. 214; L. Tabourier, Paris, 1885; Tabourier Sale, Paris, June 20, 1889, no. 19; Henry Walters, Baltimore, June 29, 1899, by purchase [Durand-Ruel as dealer, New York]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2015-2016 | Delacroix's Influence: The Rise of Modern Art from Cézanne to van Gogh. Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis; The National Gallery, London. |
| 2002-2004 | A Magnificent Age: Masterpieces from the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte. |
| 2000-2002 | Triumph of French Painting: Masterpieces from Ingres to Matisse. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa; Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach; Dayton Art Institute, Dayton; Royal Academy of Arts, London; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo. |
| 1998-2001 | Highlights from the Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1996 | Millet and Barbizon Art. Matsumoto City Museum, Matsumoto City; Tokuyama City Museum of Art and History, Tokuyama; Kasama Nichido Museum, Kasama City; Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, Kanazawa. |
| 1978 | French Nineteenth Century Oil Sketches: David to Degas. Ackland Art Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill. |
| 1968 | From El Greco to Pollock: Early and Late Works by European and American Artists. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
| 1951 | From Ingres to Gauguin: French Nineteenth Century Paintings Owned in Maryland. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 10/22/1951 | Treatment | surface cleaned; coated |
| 5/3/1962 | Treatment | varnish removed; inpainted; coated |
| 3/6/1963 | Treatment | re-framed |
| 2/14/1979 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 3/7/1979 | Treatment | re-framed |
| 10/15/1991 | Treatment | varnish removed; coated; inpainted |
| 5/26/1999 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
Measurements
H: 20 1/2 x W: 25 1/2 in. (52 x 64.8 cm); Framed H: 33 3/4 x W: 38 1/2 x D: 4 1/2 in. (85.7 x 97.8 x 11.4 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1899
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
37.110