Goetz von Berlichingen Being Dressed in Armor by His Page George

Delacroix made highly finished watercolors such as this one for exhibition and sale beginning in the 1820s. A depiction of the title character from Goethe’s drama "Goetz von Berlichingen," it demonstrates the artist’s dexterity in the medium, integrating opaque and transparent color with various types of brushwork. In rich jewel tones befitting the medieval setting, he skillfully described the texture of the brocade curtain and the glint of the armor, its specificity no doubt a product of his studies of armor in London in 1825.

Credit: Gift from the Karen B. Cohen Collection of Eugène Delacroix, in honor of Thomas P. Campbell, 2014