Arabs playing chess

Arabs Playing Chess from 1847 at the National Galleries of Scotland shows Delacroix's continued engagement with North African subjects. The chess game provided a contemplative counterpoint to his more dramatic Orientalist scenes. As the leading French Romantic painter, Delacroix brought passionate color and dynamic energy to all his subjects; his journal records his constant study of color relationships and his admiration for Rubens, Constable, and Veronese.

The players are rendered with rich Orientalist color and atmospheric handling. Delacroix's warm palette captures the absorbed concentration of the game.