Faust and Wagner, from Faust

"Faust and Wagner, from Faust" is a powerful lithograph created in 1828 by the celebrated French Romantic artist Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863). This detailed print, executed in black on white wove paper, demonstrates Delacroix’s sophisticated engagement with graphic arts, moving beyond the medium of oil painting to explore narrative through line and shadow. The work illustrates a crucial scene from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s dramatic poem Faust, a text that profoundly influenced the development of the Romantic movement throughout France and Europe. The artist was captivated by the philosophical and supernatural themes inherent in Goethe’s exploration of scholarly ambition, despair, and the quest for infinite knowledge.

Delacroix utilizes the inherent high contrast of the lithographic process, employing stark lighting and deep shadows to heighten the psychological intensity of the encounter between the learned scholar Faust and his earnest, younger pupil, Wagner. This striking interpretation of literary drama belongs to a significant series of illustrations that Delacroix produced for an 1828 French edition of Goethe's masterpiece. These publications were crucial in establishing Delacroix's stature within the international Romantic circle and cemented the power of prints as a medium for artistic expression.

Classified simply as a print, this piece remains an important example of 19th-century French graphic output. The endurance and wide dissemination of the artist's graphic work have ensured that many of these Faust illustrations are now widely accessible as public domain images. This impression of Faust and Wagner is held in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, contributing meaningfully to the comprehensive study of Delacroix’s masterful prints and drawings.