L'Assassinat de l'évêque de Liège

The Assassination of the Bishop of Liege from 1827 at the Louvre depicts a scene from Walter Scott's novel Quentin Durward. Delacroix was deeply influenced by Scott's historical novels, which provided subjects combining medieval spectacle with moral drama. 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 dramatic nocturnal scene is rendered with rich palette and dynamic composition. Delacroix's handling of the violent scene combines theatrical lighting with Romantic intensity.