Portrait of Rabelais

Portrait of Rabelais from 1834 is an imagined portrait of the great Renaissance satirist. Delacroix's literary portraits create visual images of writers he admired, combining historical imagination with his portrait skills. Delacroix executed the work with his characteristic broken, energetic brushwork and rich colorism, building up his surfaces in ways that directly influenced the Impressionists who studied his technique at the Louvre after his death.

The imagined portrait is rendered with warm palette and vigorous handling. Delacroix's characterization creates a compelling image of the literary figure.