Normandy Sketchbook

The Normandy Sketchbook is a crucial example of preparatory work by the French Romantic master Eugène Delacroix, created in 1829. Executed primarily in graphite and watercolor, with its original period binding intact, this classified drawing offers deep insight into the artist’s working method and observational practices during a foundational journey to northern France. The utilization of watercolor alongside the foundational graphite lines showcases Delacroix’s immediate experiments with expressive color and light applied rapidly in the field.

Delacroix frequently employed such sketchbooks to document his travels, capture momentary compositional ideas, and study figures or architectural elements for eventual incorporation into larger, more formalized oil paintings. This specific volume reveals the vitality of his hand, emphasizing observation rather than historical narrative, capturing the movement and atmospheric qualities characteristic of the region. Though often celebrated for his dramatic and colorful historical canvases, this intimate drawing collection highlights the rigorous foundational training and constant search for new subjects that defined the artist's Romantic approach. Sketchbooks of this nature were essential tools, serving as private visual diaries for the prolific painter.

The entirety of the sketchbook’s pages provides invaluable material for scholars studying the development of 19th-century drawing techniques. This significant work is currently held in the permanent collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it serves as a cornerstone example of Delacroix’s graphic output. Though the original remains safely preserved, detailed images of the pages are widely available through the museum’s efforts, allowing modern viewers and researchers access to high-quality prints of this seminal public domain work.