L'étang, le Louroux en Touraine

This landscape study from around 1825 at the Delacroix Museum shows the young Romantic painter working directly from nature. Though known for dramatic figure compositions, Delacroix was also a keen observer of landscape and light. 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 plein-air study captures natural light with fresh, spontaneous brushwork. Delacroix's palette shows his sensitivity to atmospheric color that would inform his larger compositions.