Jaguar Attacking a Horseman

Delacroix was, as also Théodore Géricault and Théodore Chassériau, an outstanding representative of French Romanticism in painting. Notwithstanding his objection to this characteristic, he was one of the foremost artists of this movement. Besides grandiose historical scenes he was fascinated by the dynamic movement of wild beasts. Since the 1820s he frequently visited the Jardin des Plantes to admire the elegance of these animals. Because of its subject, the interplay of figures, dynamic movement and brilliant colours Jaguar Attacking a Horseman may be seen as the quintessence of French Romanticism.