The Combat of the Giaour and Hassan

1826

This colorful scene was inspired by a poem from Lord Byron’s “oriental tales,” a popular series of romances. Both the poem and painting are examples of 19th-century Europeans’ interest in fantastical and often violent depictions of Middle Eastern, North African, and Asian cultures, which reinforced colonialist aims. Delacroix began painting Orientalist subjects early in his career, though he did not visit North Africa until 1832.

Public domain · CC0
Free to download and reuse. Image courtesy of Art Institute of Chicago.

Artist

Eugène Delacroix (French, 1798–1863)

Date

1826

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

59.6 × 73.4 cm (23 1/2 × 28 7/8 in.); Framed: 87.4 × 101.3 cm (34 3/8 × 39 7/8 in.)

Origin

France

Collection

Art Institute of Chicago

Credit

Gift of Bertha Palmer Thorne, Rose Movius Palmer, Mr. and Mrs. Arthur M. Wood, and Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Palmer