Oil Painting in the Manner of Eugène Delacroix "Dante's Barque"

Item Details

In the Manner of Eugène Delacroix (French; 1798-1863)
Dante’s Barque, early 19th century
Oil on canvas
Unsigned

Provenance
Ex Collection of Mrs. Irving T. Snyder
1972 Exhibition Out of Sight: Works of Art from San Diego Collections, 3/18/1972 – 4/23/1972.

An early 19th-century oil painting on canvas in the manner of famed French Romantic artist Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863). This work is a small-scale oil study after Delacroix’s large-scale oil painting The Barque of Dante that was completed in 1822, and currently housed in the Louvre Museum. The painting exhibits a loose rendering of Dante and Virgil crossing the lake on a small boat, surrounded by the city of Dis, and the souls of the damned writhing around them in the water. Unsigned, the work is presented in a gilt and gesso frame with elaborate foliate molding. Attached to the verso is a handwritten note of authentication and a label from the Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego, indicating that the work was included in the 1972 exhibition Out of Sight: Works of Art from San Diego Collections.

Delacroix’s monumental painting The Barque of Dante is often considered a pivotal work that marks the artist’s shift into the Romantic movement. Records show that Delacroix completed a few small-scale studies of the painting, dated circa 1822, however this particular study was not included in the artists catalogue raisonné published in 1885; therefore it is not confirmed that this particular painting was completed by the hand of Delacroix.

Condition

- painting has been cut and relined with wax and canvas; small spots of in painting scattered throughout composition; some rubbing and paint loss along painting edges; wear in frame includes small chips, stains, scratches, and finish loss scattered throughout.

Dimensions

- measurement of frame; canvas size measures approximately 11.5" W x 8.75" H.

Item #

18DCC700-115