Which French painter's 'The Death of Sardanapalus' is at the Met?

Which French painter’s “The Death of Sardanapalus” is at the Met? Eugène Delacroix painted it.

Delacroix drew the subject from Lord Byron’s 1821 dramatic poem about Sardanapalus, a legendary Assyrian ruler. In the story, the king orders his possessions and members of his court destroyed rather than allowing them to fall into enemy hands. Delacroix turned the scene into a turbulent Romantic spectacle of saturated color, violence, luxury, and theatrical movement.

The best-known large version was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1827–28 and is now in the Louvre. The Met has also presented Delacroix’s related works, including versions and studies connected with the subject; its collection and exhibitions distinguish carefully between the monumental painting and preparatory or later versions.

The title can cause confusion because multiple versions and studies exist. The painter, however, is consistent: it is Delacroix, not the Neoclassical artists Ingres or David, nor Delacroix’s Romantic contemporary Géricault.