Schetsblad met ruiter, paarden en panter over een figuurstudie

Schetsblad met ruiter, paarden en panter over een figuurstudie by Eugène Delacroix is a complex drawing executed across the broad span of his career, dated generally between 1808 and 1863. This exploratory sheet utilizes a mixed media approach, combining the swift precision of ink lines with the softer, exploratory marks achieved by pencil on paper. As a schetsblad (sketch sheet), the composition features overlapping and often non-cohesive studies, typical of an artist developing multiple ideas simultaneously for potential integration into larger, finished works. The classification of this piece as a drawing highlights the essential role intensive preparatory work played in Delacroix's artistic practice.

The primary studies visible on the surface feature dynamic figures: a powerful rider mounted on horses, alongside a striking depiction of a panther attacking. These dramatic, often violent, equestrian subjects and exotic animals reflect Delacroix’s enduring fascination with movement, conflict, and the turbulent energy of the Romantic movement. Crucially, the paper incorporates a prior figuurstudie or underlying anatomical study of the human form, visible beneath the layered animal and mounted motifs. This reuse of the page, where distinct conceptual ideas coexist, suggests the active, restless nature of the artist’s draftsmanship, transforming the paper into a laboratory for formal development and narrative experimentation.

The versatility displayed in this sketch sheet, moving rapidly from anatomical exercise to dramatic narrative, confirms Delacroix's status as a masterful draftsman of the 19th century. Although the artist is often celebrated globally for his monumental oil paintings, works like this drawing provide intimate and indispensable insight into his creative genius and methodology. This important preparatory piece resides in the permanent collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. As an item within the public domain, high-quality prints and reproductions of the work are often sought after for academic and artistic study.