Heliodorus Driven from the Temple

Heliodorus Driven from the Temple from 1850 at the Norwegian National Museum depicts the biblical scene where an angel expels a plunderer from the Temple. Delacroix treated this dramatic subject with characteristic theatrical energy. 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 dynamic composition captures the expulsion with dramatic movement and vibrant color. Delacroix's energetic brushwork conveys divine wrath with Romantic intensity.