Eugène DELACROIX and his friends, art critics.

Eugène DELACROIX (1798.1863)

Autographed letter signed to the art critic Jules-Joseph Arnoux.

Two and a half pages in-8°.

Champrosay. Sunday morning (no date)

"A scruple occurred to me that I hadn't considered."

A long letter from Delacroix, uneasy and torn between his two friends who were art critics.

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“My dear Arnoux, please forgive the delay in this letter. Since I last saw you, I have been constantly on the go. A scruple has occurred to me that I hadn't considered at first, when we barely met, and I regret it all the more because you might have been able to allay it at once. I owe [Théophile] Thoré a great deal for the way he has treated me for at least fifteen years at the Constitutionnel. It is therefore essential that you assure me that he will give up writing the fine arts articles for the newspaper. It would be rather odious of me to contribute to putting someone in his place, as long as he doesn't resign of his own accord from being part of the editorial staff. Perhaps you could inquire more precisely with one of his close friends, since it is likely that, given his circumstances, he must be difficult to reach.” You see me more distressed than you yourself might be by the difficulty I have outlined. Attribute it, my dear Arnoux, only to a sentiment you would share in my place. Do not believe that it costs me the least to support you with Mr. Véron. While not exactly acquainted with him, I find myself in a position to ask him, with the greatest ease, for a favor of this kind. Therefore, try to find out as soon as possible and reply to Mr. Eugène Delacroix in Champrosay, Seine-et-Oise. I send you my warmest regards and further expressions of devotion. Eugène Delacroix.