Interior with Staircase

"Interior with Staircase" is a powerful graphite drawing by the French Romantic master, Eugène Delacroix, executed late in his career, roughly between 1850 and 1860. This detailed study is executed entirely in graphite on paper, demonstrating Delacroix's exceptional skill even in this exploratory medium. Unlike his turbulent, colorful oil canvases, this piece showcases the artist's focus on meticulous structural representation and the quiet interplay of light and shadow within an architectural setting.

The composition centers on a vast interior featuring a dominant, sweeping staircase that leads the viewer’s eye through the space. Delacroix utilizes a complex arrangement of vertical supports and diagonal railings, employing varying line weights and subtle shading to achieve a strong sense of volumetric depth and perspective. This attention to internal domestic structure contrasts with the large-scale public commissions and history paintings for which the artist is generally known, offering insight into Delacroix's sustained interest in draftsmanship throughout his life.

This mature work, created during the final decade of the artist's output, reveals the continuing rigor of Delacroix's technical preparation. Today, this drawing resides in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it provides scholars with vital context regarding his late style and studio practice. Because many of Delacroix's preliminary drawings and studies from this era are now in the public domain, they remain essential references for understanding the foundational skill of the Romantic movement’s leading figure.