Standing nude athlete; seated man with a lyre; centaur; and seven putti 1798 - 1863

Eugène Delacroix made this pen and brown ink sketch, titled ‘Standing nude athlete; seated man with a lyre; centaur; and seven putti,’ sometime during his career. Born in the late 18th century, Delacroix came of age amidst political upheaval in France, and he developed into a leading figure of the Romantic movement. Here we see a return to classical antiquity, with its idealized forms and mythological figures. The male nude, the lyre, the centaur – these all point to a celebration of an imagined past. But what does it mean to revisit these stories? And what does it mean to be a Romantic artist who is looking to the past for inspiration while simultaneously living in a revolutionary present? Consider this as you look at the sketch: the artist's interest in both the aesthetic beauty and the historical meanings embedded in his work. It suggests a dialogue between honoring tradition and expressing a deeply personal vision of the world.