Delacroix Museum in Paris reopens its doors with an exhibition dedicated to Ingres and Delacroix

Paris (France), March 26 (EFE).- The personalities of the 19th century French painters Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and Eugène Delacroix meet again this spring in Paris through 120 objects, in the first exhibition at the Eugène-Délacroix Museum in Paris since It closed for renovations six months ago.

STATEMENTS IN FRENCH BY CLAIRE BESSÈDE, DIRECTOR OF THE EUGÈNE-DELACROIX MUSEUM:

"The exhibition really came out of the research we were able to do on the objects that were kept in the Delacroix Museum, many of which were in cabinets. And then we found some that had been restored, which we wanted to show in a study day in which we invited other museums to share our experience with these objects. At that point, we invited Florence Viguier, from the Ingres Bourdelle museum, to talk to us about the Ingre objects, and we decided that it would be a good subject for an exhibition. So we really made the leap from research to an exhibition for the general public. This is a project with the Ingres Bourdelle Museum in Montauban and the Delacroix Museum in Paris."

"At the Delacroix Museum, 120 objects and paintings are on display, which is a lot for a small museum that was Delacroix's apartment and studio. Our exhibitions usually have half the number of objects, and we already have a program that talks about the two worlds, the two artists and their real or supposed rivalry. Then there is a piece dedicated to Ingres and his objects, about the recognition of the masters of the violin and their relationship with music, and another on Delacroix, focusing on his links with the Orient. And then there are his personal objects, which also talk about his tastes... his taste for faience fish and bronze snakes. And then we enter the studio, where we find the works of both artists completely mixed around the objects of creation, painting tables, palettes, brushes. And we tried to establish the link between the colors of the palette and the colors of the paintings and the representations of the studio".

"In the end, objects say a lot (...) For example, Delacroix was a bit of a maniac with his palette, he prepared all the tones beforehand. So we have very ordered palettes. Ingres' palette is more of a mix, with flesh tones, so it's more like a Turkish bath, so there's a little bit of the color of the paintings in the palette and then there are the personal objects, which say something about his tastes. Delacroix clearly had a bad taste in animals, he liked fish, mermaid vases and paperweights with snakes on them. And then there were all the objects he brought back from Morocco, which were souvenirs of his travels, but which greatly fueled his imagination and creativity. Because for 30 years, after his trip to Morocco, he painted pictures about Morocco, and in his paintings we find the objects he brought back, the little leather bags, the colors of the ceramics, also the weapons".

"Ingres and Delacroix are two of the greatest artists of the 19th century who are 20 years apart. Ingres was a disciple of David, a rather neoclassical artist known for producing paintings in which he gave great importance to line and contour, sometimes to the detriment of anatomical proportions. And Delacroix was a Romantic artist, so he tended to emphasize movement and color. So he came about 20 years later, after one who was going to have a lot more trouble getting recognized, was going to have a lot more trouble getting into the Institute. He would never win the Prix de Rome, but he would get a lot of public commissions. So it's also two kinds of careers, two artists, I think, who didn't appreciate each other very much. And maybe we wanted to pit them against each other much more than in reality, where they probably didn't know each other very well."

"For those of you who go to the Delacroix Museum, we've changed the color of the floor. It's not necessarily a big deal, but the artwork on the wall stands out in a completely different way with this green camouflage, whereas the floor we had was much more modern. So here we're more, we're a little bit more immersed in the 19th century. We've also added a number of mediation tools, a chronology and explanations of where Delacroix lived, to give a little more perspective. And above all, you will discover a new exhibition.

It's a completely new exhibition about Ingres and Delacroix and the artist's objects, so I hope it will open their eyes."

Camera: Edgar Sapiña Manchado.