The Met opens first exhibition devoted to Delacroix's drawings in more than 50 years
Renowned as a giant of French Romantic painting, Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863) was equally a dedicated and an innovative draftsman. Devotion to Drawing: The Karen B. Cohen Collection of Eugène Delacroix explores the central role of drawing in the artist’s practice through more than one hundred works—from finished watercolors to sketchbooks, from copies after old master prints to preparatory drawings for important projects. As the first North American exhibition devoted to Delacroix’s drawings in more than 50 years, it introduces a new generation to the artist’s draftsmanship. The exhibition celebrates a major gift to The Met from Karen B. Cohen, an Honorary Trustee and a longstanding supporter of the Museum, of her extraordinary collection of drawings by Delacroix. Assembled with an eye to the artist’s process, Mrs. Cohen’s collection illuminates the ways in which drawing shaped Delacroix’s artistic development;