On this day in 1856 the death of one of my favourite French artists - Paul Delarouche.
Delarouche had a 'straightforward technique that was firm, solid and smooth' he also had a wonderful talent for the dramatic. He was known to build little stage sets, including model figures to aid his work, he was also well known for his cloaked references to the French Revolution in which he often used English historical 'victims' such as Charles I, Lady Jane Grey and Thomas Wentworth to make a point.
Delaroche cared little about historical inaccuracies if he succeeded in getting his point across to the French public.
A good example of this is his painting The Princes in the Tower, for which he drew his inspiration from the work of Shakespeare, a story he knew to have some truth. With this in mind, he was able to make a comparison of the deaths of the two English boys to draw attention to the mysterious deaths of Louis XVII of France.
A good example of this is his painting The Princes in the Tower, for which he drew his inspiration from the work of Shakespeare, a story he knew to have some truth. With this in mind, he was able to make a comparison of the deaths of the two English boys to draw attention to the mysterious deaths of Louis XVII of France.
Delaroche always denied any reference to the revolution in his works, but why would a French artist produce work based on the deaths of English victims of tyranny, if it was not to represent his own.
Paul Delaroche had married Louise Vernet, daughter of a noted French artist famous for his portraits of battles/French revolution. He never recovered from Louise's death, his Head of an Angel was based on a study of her.
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