Figure Studies for the Salon du Roi, Palais Bourbon

Figure Studies for the Salon du Roi, Palais Bourbon by Eugène Delacroix, executed between 1833 and 1835, is a vital preparatory drawing documenting his process for one of his most important public commissions. Rendered using pen and iron gall ink, this work captures the energy and dynamism characteristic of Delacroix’s draftsmanship. The studies were created while Delacroix was designing the monumental decorations for the Salon du Roi (King’s Chamber) in the Palais Bourbon, now the seat of the French National Assembly.

The sheet contains rapid sketches exploring potential poses and musculature for the figures meant to adorn the architectural space. Many of these figures are female nudes, used by Delacroix to analyze human form and movement before their transition into monumental scale and classical drapery in the finished murals. This piece illustrates the intense planning required for such a large-scale project, revealing Delacroix’s debt to the academic tradition of figure study, even as he championed the Romantic movement. The iron gall ink, applied with quick, decisive strokes, lends the drawing a spontaneous quality, highlighting the artist's immediate capture of form on paper.

This significant drawing, along with related preparatory works, provides crucial insight into the artist’s approach to adapting classical themes for a contemporary political setting. The piece is part of the extensive collection of European drawings held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Because of its age and historical importance, high-resolution images of this work are frequently made available for study through public domain initiatives, allowing scholars worldwide to examine Delacroix’s technical brilliance.