Paul Delaroche

Paul Delaroche is my favorite classic artist. I know you're probably wondering who the heck he is, no one really knows who he is - at least not in this century


If you were to look back at the early 1800s you would see many great artists, writers, and composers. And if you were to ask who was the greatest historical painter of the time ( I don't know why you would be asking that, but in all theory imagine you did) the answer you would receive would be Hippolyte (Paul) Delaroche. I could give you the whole back story of where he was born, his life growing up, etc. But I said I wouldn't be writing these posts as if they were a paper for class. Instead I'm going to talk about why I like his work. I will tell you that he was French and loved painting English history.



This painting (look to your left) is called The Execution of Lady Jane Grey. It hangs in the National Gallery in London, and I think that it is absolutely beautiful. What first captured my attention about this piece was the colors. The painting as a whole is quite dark, all except for Lady Jane. The beautiful white of her dress makes her the centerpiece of the painting. I also love the way she is positioned, so gentle, so elegant. If you look at her ladies in waiting you can see the sorrow in their faces, you can feel the emotion. I think that it is a beautiful painting, and I think that Delaroche was able to invoke great emotion with this painting. Although I have read that this is historically in accurate. The article I was reading said that Lady Jane was executed outside, not in a dungeon. I don't know if this is true, does anyone else?



When I was in the Louvre in 2006 I wasn't too interested in what my tour guide was saying. I love art, yes, but I have a really hard time when people tell me what I should like. That is why I strayed away from our tour guide and wanted to find my favorites in the collection. As I wandered around the room we were in I stumbled upon La Jeune Martyr or The Young Marty as we say in English. I was mesmerized by this painting. It was so sad, yet so intriguing. I couldn't look away. The face of the girl had captured me. She looked so innocent and so peaceful. I stood there for a few minutes studying this piece. I was finally pulled away and we continued with the tour. But I couldn't get La Jeune Martyr out of my head. Why was she in the river? Who were the people in the background of the painting? Why was she a martyr? I have searched for the past 4 years, trying to find the history of this painting. I have failed so far. All I can find out is that she was a a young martyr in the Tigress River. Other than that the story seems to have been lost. If anyone knows the history behind this painting, please tell me. I'm so curious, and it drives me insane that I don't know the story. My love for this painting has never faltered. When I returned to the Louvre in 2008 this was one of the paintings I planned to see. After seeing it the second time I was probably even more in love with it than the first time. At least I'm faithful.

I have only found 2 books about Delaroche, and he hardly ever shows up in comprehensive art history books. I wish he would be discussed more. In the 19th century he was a very important painter. He was widely known and widely appreciated. Sadly as time has passed he has fallen into obscurity. I still greatly admire his work though. I hope that now you will too.