The Good Samaritan

Delacroix was born near Paris but grown up in The Hague where his father was Ministre Plénipotentiaire. He first trained with Pierre Guérin (1774-1833) and then entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1816. He soon specialised in history and religious paintings while recognition from the public started with his debut at the Salon in 1822, which immediately heralded him as a major figure of the French school.

This painting depicts a scene from the Gospels, which tells the story of a Samaritan having compassion for a wounded traveller. This painting is a fine example of Delacroix's religious paintings of the 1850s, which show a rather dark palette, but were undeniably appreciated by the critics.