Eugène Delacroix

(April 26, 1798, Charenton-Républicain, Seine, France – August 13, 1863, Paris, Second French Empire) was a significant French painter of the Romantic period, an early precursor and affiliate of Impressionism, as well as one of the forerunners and theorists of Divisionism.

From Dante and Virgil in Hell—his artistic debut at the Salon—to his final paintings, Delacroix's work was the subject of relentless criticism. The artist's style, his conception of the art of painting, and his technique irritated contemporary art audiences. Public reactions were often vehement, and critics stigmatized his works, accusing him of the "disguised massacre of painting."