The Abduction of Rebecca

Delacroix's The Abduction of Rebecca of 1846 depicts the scene from Scott's Ivanhoe in which the Templar Brian de Bois-Guilbert carries off Rebecca during the burning of Torquilstone castle — one of Delacroix's most dramatic Ivanhoe subjects, returning to a narrative he had treated in an 1823 version. The composition's turbulent energy — the white-robed Rebecca struggling in the Templar's grasp against a background of burning masonry — exemplifies Delacroix's mature ability to organize violent action into pictorial coherence. The warm coloring and dynamic brushwork demonstrate his response to Rubens's handling of abduction subjects.

The dynamic composition centers on the struggling figures amid the chaos of the castle assault. Delacroix's vibrant palette of warm reds and golds and his energetic brushwork convey the violence and confusion of the abduction scene.