Christ at the Column

Christ at the Column from 1849 at the National Gallery of Canada shows Delacroix painting the Passion with characteristic emotional power. His religious subjects bring the full force of Romantic feeling to traditional Christian imagery. 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 bound Christ is rendered with dramatic lighting and warm palette. Delacroix's handling creates an image of suffering invested with Romantic emotional intensity.