Medea (1838). Eugène Delacroix (French, 1798-1863). Oil on canvas. Musée du Lille.Rejected by Jason,
Medea (1838). Eugène Delacroix (French, 1798-1863). Oil on canvas. Musée du Lille.Rejected by Jason, who picked the King of Corinth’s daughter over her, Medea flies into an avenging rage and decides to cut the throats of their two sons. The young woman knows she is being hunted and looks worried. Her posture is unstable. Her children are struggling to escape her clutches. A dark shadow partly masks her face, representing the madness that blinds her. The composition is pyramidal. The colours are dark: the red of the draped fabric matches cleverly the brown of the landscape and the muted green of Medea’s dress. In the centre of the intermingled limbs and flesh, the dagger is the only vertical axis in the painting. Highlighted by the white fabric, it seems to jump out from the painting. Tragic subject, spectacular composition, violently contrasting lighting, sensual tangle of bodies: the painting has all the ingredients of a romantic masterpiece. -- source link
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