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Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863) thought that painting was an act of cultural and political memory. He often used it as a news medium to raise public awareness of the tragedies of his time (i.e. The Massacre at Chios, Missolonghi). In this monograph, the author analyzes the founding infl uences on the artistic production of this major fi gure of French Romanticism: classical art works of literature (e.g. Corneille, Racine, Shakespeare, Dante) and painting (e.g. Poussin, Le Brun, David), fellow painters Guérin and Géricault, as well as the political turmoil of the early 19th century. With 150 illustrations (paintings, drawings, sketches, lithographs, etc.) and numerous quotes from the artist’s diary, Stéphane Guégan’s text highlights the questions and doubts that assailed Delacroix, as well as his enthusiasms, his quarrels, his relentless battle for academic recognition. Above all, the author reveals how this painter has transformed historical painting into historical memory.