Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863)
Seven autograph letters (of which five signed,‘Eug. Delacroix’, ‘E. Delacroix’) to various correspondents, Paris and Champrosay, 1836-1862
In French. 11 pages, various sizes (190 x 125mm to 211 x 136mm), one envelope, with a printed invitation to view Delacroix’s Sainte Sulpice chapel decorations. Provenance: Sotheby’s, 2 December 1994, lot 591 (part).

Insight into Delacroix’s practice, reporting on the progress of his Apollo, and commenting on the state of the art world and Parisian salon culture. Delacroix writes on a number of art-related subjects, including his belief that his Apollo is an improvement on the sketch, a request to M. Tescherer to return as soon as possible his pictures of ‘Marino Faliero’ and the ‘Arabs’, and the dispatch of two plates to the editor of Cabinet de l’amateur for proofs to be made, believing his illustration of a tiger to be in poor condition and insufficient. In other letters he requests samples from a gilder to furnish his salon, comments regretfully on the state of the art world (‘it is all too true that the rise of a single school has won out completely and threatens to undercut all artists who do not follow this worn-out tradition’). and reflects on his old age: ‘work is my greatest joy, but it requires a great deal of sacrifice on my part, especially at this time of year.’