DELACROIX inaugurates “Apollo conqueror of the snake Python”

[Eugène Delacroix] (1798.1863)

Invitation printed for the attention of Jules-Joseph Arnoux.

Booklet of 4 pages in-8°. Missing central fold without affecting the text.

Handwritten address on the 4th ^sheet .

Paris. October 15, 1851.

Very beautiful period plaque issued by Delacroix for the presentation of his latest work Apollo conqueror of the serpent Python , in the Apollon gallery, at the Louvre.

On the second leaf, a description of his painting is presented to readers:

The god, mounted on his chariot, has already launched part of his arrows; Diane, his sister, flying after him, presents him with her quiver. Already pierced by the arrows of the god of heat and life, the bloody monster writhes, exhaling in a flaming vapor the remains of its life and its impotent rage…..

The history of the decoration of the Apollo Gallery, a long room occupying the first floor of the Petite Galerie du Louvre, spans three centuries. In 1848, as part of the vast restoration program undertaken by the Republican government after the fall of the July Monarchy, the architect Félix Duban undertook a major campaign of work at the Louvre. The Apollo gallery, which was in danger of falling into ruin, was restored between 1849 and 1850.

After the structural work, the stucco and the sculpture, it was decided to complete the painted decoration where two ceiling compartments and a tympanum still remained unfinished. In 1850, Duban chose to entrust its creation to Charles-Louis Müller, Joseph Guichard and Eugène Delacroix. The latter inherits the central part of the ceiling, the centerpiece of the gallery's decor.

Delacroix initially imagined a decoration on the theme of Sea Nymphs unharnessing the Sun's steeds, but ultimately opted for Apollo conquering the serpent Python , a subject taken from Book I of Ovid's Metamorphoses .

The ceiling painted by Delacroix received a very enthusiastic reception from critics. Delacroix is ​​given the honor of having rivaled Charles Le Brun, then considered the greatest French decorative painter, through this vast composition.