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Eugene Delacroix<break strength="x-strong"/> Charenton-Saint-Maurice 1798 – Paris 1863<break strength="x-strong"/> Lioness Torn to pieces by an Arab, 1849<break strength="x-strong"/> Soft wax 205 x 276 millimeters<break strength="x-strong"/> In the field of engraving, Eugene Delacroix is ​​best known for his lithographic work. The French artist was also a skilled etcher – he made twenty engravings in all – and often used aquatint and soft wax. This lesser-known production shows the artist’s more personal, and perhaps also more spontaneous, side. Delacroix began working in the world of art printing after returning from a stay in England in 1825, with the lithograph Macbeth Consulting the Witches, which appears as a curious mix of pencil and scraper. With the same procedure he compiled the series Ancient Medals and the plates for Faust, which appeared in 1828 and which imposed him in the eyes of the public as a romantic artist, even if they were not free from criticism from those conservatives who unconditionally admired the pure art of Ingres. Delacroix meanwhile brought to the attention of the public a new aspect of his artistic temperament, that of “animalier”, that is, executor of subjects with animals. The reference to Rubens’ Hunts – which would culminate in 1855 with the painting Lion Hunt – already appears evident in works such as Wild Horse Killed by a Tiger, Royal Tiger, Tiger of Atlantis and even more so in this Lioness Torn to pieces by an Arab. Signed and dated 1849, this soft-wax engraving, in addition to offering a sample of Delacroix’s engraving skills, reveals the artist’s vigorous temperament, which returns to the magic of the Orient – ​​once almost whispered in his Women of Algiers in their Apartments (1834, Paris, Louvre) – with a completely different spirit and strength.