This is an essay by Alexandre Dumas about Eugène Delacroix adapted and illustrated by Catherine Meurisse. Dumas thought very highly of Delacroix, but his words aren't exactly riveting. Meurisse's cartoons illustrating scenes from the text are amusing, but her impressionistic watercolor versions of Delacroix's paintings are abominable and give not the slightest hint at the beauty of the originals.

Skip this one unless you have a burning to desire to know what Dumas thought of Delacroix.

Received via NetGalley.

This colourful book is a delightful combination of text and image. It is based on Alexandre Dumas' tribute written a year after the death of Eugène Delacroix. The famous writer shares his memories from their friendship with the great artist, reciting some anecdotes and shining a light on the personality of Delacroix, through his major works and various ups and downs in his lifetime.
Beautifully coloured drawings inspired from the works of Delacroix and small caricatures among partially coloured drawings depicting the recited events from the art world of the period accompany his words (some rather amusing) throughout the book..
The style of the drawings and the handwritten appearance of text gives an intimate feeling that can be found in an artist's personal notebook.
Many thanks to the NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to access this book.

This is the second graphic text I've read this year (the first was on the life of Zola) and it's a gorgeous introduction to the life and work of Delacroix. Based on a eulogy written by his friend, Alexandre Dumas, this combines witty drawings that illustrate and comment on the life with glorious representations of Delacroix's flamboyant paintings with their splodges of colour and almost abstract draughtsmanship. Definitely a book that whet my appetite to learn more about Delacroix himself beyond his Liberty and the debates about art of the period.

Delacroix was an intriguing book in terms if style. The artwork is unique and I appreciate it as a merging of graphic novel, art, and history.

An informative and engaging adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ text regarding the life of romantic painter Eugene Delacroix. While the illustrations are masterful and fantastic on their own, they feel out of place in this context (why not use reproductions of the painter’s work?). The strength of the book rests squarely on the text and the amusing spot illustrations.

Brave, I think, is the word here. This graphic novel tries to give life to a lecture/speech/whatever Alexander Dumas (the whichever) gave in regard to the French master painter, Eugene Delacroix. Early on we see shortcomings – despite a few reasonable spot illustrations, we first see our creator's version of the early Delacroix, 'The Barque of Dante', and let's just be blunt – her version is nothing like the real thing. It's awful. It's "someone left this cake out in the rain" compared to a Great British Bake-Off winner. A fine anecdote about a generous donor for a frame for one exhibit of his is followed by the work 'Massacre at Chios', and again the version given is sinful. It's a Stylophone where a church organ is needed, and when we're consequently told how important the painting was it's important we see the picture, as in the picture and not a tenth-rate watercolour bodge of it. The whole authority of the piece is lost by these mis-reproductions. So as surprising as it is, that the graphic novel form can be adopted to give life to such an essay, the fact we see ugly splodges of watercolour when the subject was unearthly in comparison is a major issue. I would never have thought to see such a piece given such illustration, speech bubbles and vivacity, but I would rather some two-bit local arts history society give a lecture and show us the real thing than this. One and a half stars.

Plus I was always a Bouguereau man, myself.