DELACROIX (Eugène). - Lot 90

DELACROIX (Eugène). Born in Charenton-Saint-Maurice. 1798–1863. Painter, watercolorist, draftsman, and lithographer. Autograph letter signed “E. Delacroix” to a gentleman. No place, no date (This Tuesday morning). 1 1/4 pages, in-8 format. Delacroix regrets that he cannot visit him that very evening, …I have been suffering for three days from a sore throat, which prevents me from attending any kind of gathering or speaking a single word. The consequences of these ailments, to which I am prone, are so serious for me that they are currently forcing me to follow a strict regimen…He asks him to convey …how deeply I regret this setback to Mr. Shulhoff… [presumably Julius Schulhoff, 1825–1898, a pianist and composer whom Frédéric Chopin encouraged to become a professional pianist].A major painter of the Romantic movement, Eugène Delacroix left behind numerous politically engaged works, often related to current events, such as *Scenes from the Massacres at Chios* (1824) or Liberty Leading the People (1830), as well as works inspired by literature, such as Dante’s Boat (1822) and The Death of Sardanapalus (1827–1828), inspired by a poem by Byron.