The Bride of Abydos, oil on canvas. Musée du Louvre; RF 1398. Dated about 1852–53 in the 2018 catalogue; the museum record assigns a broader, earlier period. Buy Art Prints Now
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Tom Gurney BSc (Hons) is an art history expert with over 20 years experience
Published on June 19, 2020 / Updated on October 30, 2026
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The Bride of Abydos: Introduction

In Eugène Delacroix’s The Bride of Abydos, a raised sword seems at first to explain everything: a man is ready to fight. The woman beside him makes the scene harder to read. She bends away, turns her face downwards and reaches across his body at two different heights. Her hands bind the pair together, but their movements diverge. He faces the danger approaching from the left; she appears to resist the action that will carry him towards it. Between the cliff and the sea, there is scarcely room for either of them to withdraw.

This small, upright painting belongs to the Musée du Louvre. Known there as La fiancée d’Abydos, it is an oil on canvas measuring 35.5 × 27.5 cm, inventory number RF 1398. It bears Delacroix’s signature at the lower left and entered the collection through George Thomy-Thiéry’s bequest in 1902.[1] Its modest dimensions matter to the encounter. The figures fill much of the narrow canvas, yet the faces and weapons invite close inspection. What first looks like a single dramatic knot resolves into several competing gestures.

At a Glance

  • DateAbout 1852–53 in the 2018 catalogue; dating disputed [1]
  • MediumOil on canvas [1]
  • Dimensions35.5 × 27.5 cm [1]
  • Collection / recordMusée du Louvre; RF 1398 [1]

This work across Eugène Delacroix’s career

Year
182018301840185018601870

The Bride of Abydos (current article)

About 1852–53; dating disputed [5]

Christ Asleep

About 1853 [6]

Contents

  1. A Louvre canvas with a disputed date
  2. Two weapons, two restraining hands
  3. The pursuit at the cave
  4. Rock, cloth and water close the space
  5. An escape already under threat
  6. Annotated details

A Louvre canvas with a disputed date

The painting’s date requires qualification. Sébastien Allard and Côme Fabre’s 2018 Delacroix catalogue dates this Louvre canvas to about 1852–53, identifying it as the third rendering of the subject.[8] The Louvre’s collection record instead assigns it to the broader, earlier period 1825–1850, the second quarter of the nineteenth century.[1] Neither record justifies treating a particular year as inscribed on this canvas. The catalogue’s approximate dating places it within Delacroix’s repeated exploration of the lovers, while the disagreement remains unresolved.

A separate painting, now at the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, is securely signed and dated 1857. Titled Selim and Zuleika, it measures 47.6 × 40 cm and bears the inventory number AP 1986.04. The Kimbell identifies it as the last of four painted versions. Delacroix gave that canvas to his landlord, Jules Hurel, in March 1858; the museum purchased it in 1986.[9] Those details belong to the Fort Worth picture. The Louvre canvas has its own dimensions, signature and bequest history.

Keeping the two objects distinct also clarifies the significance of repetition. Allard and Fabre describe the 1857 work as a return to the third composition with variations in colour. Their discussion places repeated compositions within Delacroix’s wider practice, encompassing both demand for familiar subjects and the further development of motifs.[8] Four versions need not imply an exceptional departure from his habits. Here, repetition gave the same relationship between two bodies another pictorial life.

Selim and Zuleika, 1857, oil on canvas
Selim and Zuleika, 1857, oil on canvas. Kimbell Art Museum; AP 1986.04. The last of four painted versions uses different colours from the Louvre canvas shown above. Kimbell Art Museum, faithful reproduction via Wikimedia Commons. Image source. Public domain. Whole supplied primary image retained, including documentary/support edges; no appearance editing.

Two weapons, two restraining hands

In the Louvre painting, Selim stands on the right in blue sleeves, short white trousers and red leggings. A red cloak spreads behind him and descends almost to the ground, its broad folds enlarging his silhouette. A cream and red turban frames his turned head. His extended upper arm carries the curved sabre towards the left, where its blade sweeps down against the dark rock. Lower down, his other hand holds a pistol across the space in front of Zuleika’s waist. The weapons occupy different levels, making the group dangerous from shoulder to hip.

Zuleika’s pale gold and cream dress catches the light beside his darker blue. Pink fabric and a deep green-blue hem emerge among its folds. A bright belt and necklace add small points of brilliance, but the costume’s richness does not free her movement. Her bent body, angled head and gathered skirt make a descending line beside Selim’s upright stance. The eye can follow his sword arm outwards, then return through her raised arm towards the joined bodies.

Her upper hand reaches to his neck or shoulder, close beneath his face. Her lower hand meets the forearm carrying the pistol. At these two points of contact, her hands intervene in the arrangement of his armed body. Meanwhile, her head turns away from his face and from the high sweep of the sabre. That separation between touch and gaze gives the gesture its unease. She remains physically attached to him while looking towards the space below and to the left.

Allard and Fabre interpret her action as an attempt to restrain Selim from a hopeless confrontation. They also recognise how easily the pose can suggest a woman defending herself against the man beside her.[8] The visual ambiguity is real, but it cannot by itself establish that he is attacking her. His face and sword are directed towards the pursuit. Her hands bring pressure back towards the couple. The drama lies in their conflicting responses to a shared danger.

The catalogue develops this ambiguity through a comparison with Delacroix’s Desdemona Cursed by Her Father, in which a related arrangement serves a scene of male anger against a woman.[8] That comparison helps explain why a raised arm and a recoiling figure can carry an initial threat before the story is understood. In The Bride of Abydos, identifying the weapons and the distant pursuers changes the meaning of the apparent struggle without removing its tension.

Explore Delacroix on video

An artist overview and a closer look at Liberty Leading the People.

The pursuit at the cave

The lovers are Selim and Zuleika, the doomed pair in Lord Byron’s poem The Bride of Abydos, published in 1813. The Kimbell’s account describes their flight from the marriage imposed on Zuleika and their wait for rescue at a grotto.[9] The setting belongs to literary fiction on the shores of the Hellespont, or Dardanelles. The clothes and weapons make that fiction vivid; they do not establish the painting as a record of a historical escape or an exact account of Ottoman dress.

The Louvre identifies the subject more specifically with canto II, stanza XXIII.[1] Reading that stanza beside the surrounding passages reveals why both weapons matter. In stanza XXII, torches multiply as the pursuers search the ground and approach the cave. In XXIII, Selim fires his pistol to signal his companions offshore. The shot is a bid for rescue, but he immediately recognises that it has brought his enemies nearer. He then draws his father’s scimitar and prepares for an unequal fight.[10]

The painting makes the pistol and sabre available to the eye together. One recalls an attempt to reach beyond the enclosed shore; the other anticipates combat on it. This does not require assigning the image to a split second immediately after the shot. Delacroix’s arrangement brings the means of calling for help into the same group as the means of resistance. Zuleika’s lower hand lies near the weapon associated with the failed signal, while her upper hand pulls the viewer’s attention towards Selim’s face and extended arm.

Byron also gives Selim a limit within his defiance. He tells Zuleika that he will not seek out her father, Giaffir, in the fighting, although he will resist the other attackers.[10] This complicates any reading of the sword as undirected rage. The poem places affection, family loyalty and violence within the same emergency. The painted gesture can therefore look both protective and reckless: Selim confronts the threat to the couple, but confrontation risks destroying their chance of remaining together.

Rock, cloth and water close the space

The pursuers are easy to miss. At the left, small reddish faces, figures and lights emerge from the brown recesses of the rock. Their scale makes them appear distant from the richly dressed lovers, yet the cliff draws them into the same narrow passage. The dark mass above Zuleika is not an empty backdrop. Its hollows give the approaching figures somewhere to appear, while its overhang presses down on the larger bodies in front.

On the opposite side, a pale opening reveals the sea. Water might promise an escape, but it already laps at the ledge beneath the couple. White foam runs around the lower rocks, and a further wave breaks behind Selim’s cloak. The figures stand on a projecting shelf with little visible ground beyond their feet. The sea is simultaneously the route towards help and the force that makes the footing precarious.

Cloth adds another kind of movement. Selim’s cloak billows away from his shoulders before falling in heavy red folds; Zuleika’s skirt spreads and trails across the stone. These shapes extend the agitation of the bodies into the surrounding space. His red silhouette crowds the right edge of the group, while her pale dress reaches down and left. Rock, fabric and water almost meet around their feet. The composition leaves an opening towards the sea, but gives no sense of an easy passage through it.

The contrast with Byron’s night scene is also instructive. His pursuing torches and the fatal shot belong to darkness; the following morning reveals what remains on the beach.[10] The painting gives the pale dress, white trousers, exposed faces and distant water enough light to be immediately legible. That visibility does not establish a precise hour. It allows the gestures to be read against the cave’s obscurity, with the small lights of pursuit still active in the background.

An escape already under threat

The poem carries the action beyond the moment represented. In stanza XXIV, Selim fights towards the water while his companions struggle ashore. Their boat comes close, but rescue arrives too late. In XXV, he turns to look for Zuleika and is shot by Giaffir. The next stanza imagines his body carried away by the sea and states that Zuleika’s heart has already broken before his own death.[10] Zuleika’s death completes the loss of both lovers.

Knowing this ending changes the water at the painting’s edge. Its foam anticipates the place of Selim’s death, although the picture still holds him upright and capable of action. The distant pursuit has not yet overwhelmed the foreground. There remains enough space for hope to be imagined, but every route is compromised: the rock admits the attackers, the sea delays assistance, and the lovers’ gestures pull in different directions.

That is what gives this small canvas its particular force. Selim’s sword reaches beyond the pair; Zuleika’s hands draw attention back to the bond between them. His resistance depends on turning outwards, while her effort to keep him close interrupts that turn. Their splendid clothes unite them as the brightest presence on the shore, but the directions of their bodies divide them. Delacroix makes the threatened escape visible through that unequal movement: two people remain inseparable at the very moment when action may tear them apart.

Annotated Details from The Bride of Abydos

The numbered points identify visible features discussed in this article. Return from each detail to the whole composition. Each caption identifies the work shown.

The Bride of Abydos

The Bride of Abydos, oil on canvas. Musée du Louvre; RF 1398. Dated about 1852–53 in the 2018 catalogue; the museum record assigns a broader, earlier period. Faithful reproduction via Wikimedia Commons. Image source. Public domain. Numbers added to a separate resized overview; detail images are crops of the source reproduction. No colour or perspective changes.

Annotated details from The Bride of Abydos by Eugène Delacroix

Selim and Zuleika - Kimbell 1857 Version

Selim and Zuleika, 1857, oil on canvas. Kimbell Art Museum; AP 1986.04. The last of four painted versions uses different colours from the Louvre canvas shown above. Kimbell Art Museum, faithful reproduction via Wikimedia Commons. Image source. Public domain. Numbered overview and detail crops made from the complete source reproduction. Public domain / PD-Art. Original colour and geometry retained.

Annotated details from Selim and Zuleika - Kimbell 1857 Version by Eugène Delacroix

Details from THE BRIDE OF ABYDOS

Each caption distinguishes the main work from the separate comparison. Compare the numbered details with their positions in the complete reproductions.

The Bride of Abydos

1

A raised sword reaches beyond the pair

Selim’s blue sleeve carries the sabre towards the dark rock. Its outward sweep faces the direction of pursuit.

A raised sword reaches beyond the pair detail from The Bride of Abydos by Eugène Delacroix
2

Two contacts interrupt the armed body

Zuleika touches near the shoulder and at the lower forearm beside the pistol. Her hands draw attention back towards the joined figures.

Two contacts interrupt the armed body detail from The Bride of Abydos by Eugène Delacroix
3

Water surrounds the narrow ledge

Trailing fabrics and foam approach one another around the figures’ feet. The sea offers a route for help while narrowing their footing.

Water surrounds the narrow ledge detail from The Bride of Abydos by Eugène Delacroix

Selim and Zuleika - Kimbell 1857 Version

4

Zuleika turns to the left

The woman’s head and upper body turn to the left. Pale fabric and red drapery frame the darker hair and the lowered face.

Zuleika turns to the left detail from Selim and Zuleika - Kimbell 1857 Version by Eugène Delacroix
5

Selim raises an arm

The raised arm stretches across the rocky background. Its near-horizontal line opens the upper part of the group above the more tightly gathered bodies.

Selim raises an arm detail from Selim and Zuleika - Kimbell 1857 Version by Eugène Delacroix
6

Hands gather at the centre

Hands and overlapping fabric meet between the two figures. Pale sleeves, red cloth and darker shadows make this a dense centre of contact.

Hands gather at the centre detail from Selim and Zuleika - Kimbell 1857 Version by Eugène Delacroix
7

The sea opens beyond the figures

A narrow view of water opens beside the figures. Pale waves and the low shoreline contrast with the darker rocks that enclose the group.

The sea opens beyond the figures detail from Selim and Zuleika - Kimbell 1857 Version by Eugène Delacroix

Artworks directory

Selected documented works by or associated with Eugène Delacroix, with dates, media and collection records distinguished. This is a growing research directory, not a complete catalogue. An unspecified medium appears under All media.

221 records

NameDateMedium
Male Academy Figure: Half‑Length, Side Viewc. 1818–20Oil painting Catalogue.
Female Academy Figure: Seated, Front View (Mademoiselle Rose)c. 1820–23Oil painting Catalogue.
Two Bearded Heads, after Veronese (detail from “The Marriage at Cana”)1820Oil painting Catalogue.
Self‑Portrait as Ravenswoodc.1821Oil painting Catalogue.
Nereid, after Rubens, detail from “The Landing of Maria de Medici at Marseilles”c. 1822Oil painting Catalogue.
Studies of a Damned Man, for “The Barque of Dante”1822Drawing Catalogue.
Head of an Old Greek Woman1824Oil painting Catalogue.
Tasso in the Hospital of St. Anna, Ferrara1824Oil painting Catalogue.
Turk Mounting His Horse1824Aquatint Catalogue.
Portrait of AspasieAbout 1824Oil painting Catalogue.
Sketch after Goya’s “Caprichos”c. 1822–24Drawing Catalogue.
Study of Babouchesc. 1823–24Oil painting Catalogue.
Thales Fielding (1793–1837)c. 1824–25Oil painting Catalogue.
Studies of Bindings, an Oriental Jacket, and Figures after Goyac. 1822–26Oil painting Catalogue.
Study of an Oriental Vestc. 1822–26Drawing Catalogue.
Study of Greek Costumesc. 1823–26Drawing Catalogue.
Christ in the Garden of Olives (The Agony in the Garden)1824–26Oil painting Catalogue.
Reclining Female Nude: Back Viewc. 1824–26Oil painting Catalogue.
Macbeth Consulting the Witches1825Lithograph Catalogue.
Studies of Seven Greek Coins1825Lithograph Catalogue.
Studies of Twelve Greek and Roman Coins1825Lithograph Catalogue.
Mortally Wounded Brigand Quenches His Thirstc.1825Oil painting Catalogue.
Charles VI and Odette de ChampdiversAbout 1825Oil painting Catalogue.
The Duke of Orléans Showing His LoverAbout 1825–26Oil painting Catalogue.
Count Demetrius de Palatiano (1794–1849) in Suliot Costumec. 1825–26Oil painting Catalogue.
Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi1826Oil painting Catalogue.
Combat of the Giaour and Hassan1826Oil painting Catalogue.
Justinian Drafting His Laws, sketch1826Oil painting Catalogue.
Baron Schwiter (Louis Auguste Schwiter, 1805–1889)1826Lithograph Catalogue.
Louis Auguste Schwiter (1805–1889)1826–30Oil painting Catalogue.
Death of Sardanapalus, sketch1826–27Oil painting Catalogue.
A Lady and Her Valetc. 1826–29Oil painting Catalogue.
Woman with a Parrot1827Oil painting Catalogue.
Seated Turk (possibly Paul Barroilhet, 1805–1871)c. 1827–30Oil painting Catalogue.
A Greek and a Turk in an Interiorlate 1820sWatercolour Catalogue.
Faust (illustrated book)1828Illustrated book Catalogue.
Mephistopheles Flying over the City (Study for “Faust,” plate 1)c. 1825–27Drawing Catalogue.
Faust, plate 1: Mephistopheles Aloft1826/27Lithograph Catalogue.
Faust, plate 2: Faust in His Study1826/27Lithograph Catalogue.
Faust, plate 3: Faust and Wagner1826/27Lithograph Catalogue.
Faust, plate 4: Faust, Wagner, and the Poodle1826/27Lithograph Catalogue.
Faust, plate 5: Mephistopheles Appearing to Faust1826/27Lithograph Catalogue.
Faust, plate 6: Mephistopheles Receiving the Student1826/27Lithograph Catalogue.
Faust and Mephistopheles in the Tavern (Study for “Faust,” plate 7)1825/26Drawing Catalogue.
Faust, plate 7: Mephistopheles in Auerbach’s Tavern1826Lithograph Catalogue.
Faust, Marguerite, and Mephistopheles in the Street (Study for “Faust,” plate 8)c. 1825–27Drawing Catalogue.
Faust, plate 8: Faust Trying to Seduce Marguerite1826/27Lithograph Catalogue.
Faust, plate 9: Mephistopheles Introduces Himself at Martha’s House1827Lithograph Catalogue.
Faust, plate 10: Marguerite at the Spinning Wheel1826/27Lithograph Catalogue.
Faust, plate 11: Duel between Faust and Valentin1826/27Lithograph Catalogue.
Faust, plate 12: Mephistopheles and Faust Fleeing after the Duel1826/27Lithograph Catalogue.
Faust, plate 13: Marguerite in Church1826/27Lithograph Catalogue.
Faust, plate 14: Faust and Mephistopheles in the Harz Mountains1826/27Lithograph Catalogue.
Faust, plate 15: Marguerite’s Ghost Appearing to Faust1826/27Lithograph Catalogue.
Faust, plate 16: Faust and Mephistopheles Galloping on Walpurgis Night1826Lithograph Catalogue.
Faust, plate 17: Faust with Marguerite in Prison1826/27Lithograph Catalogue.
Wild Horse Felled by a Tiger1828Lithograph Catalogue.
Wild Horse Felled by a Tiger1828Watercolour Catalogue.
Wild Horse1828Lithograph Catalogue.
Studies of a Lion (Tours sketchbook)12 February 1824 or 1829Drawing Catalogue.
Sketches of Tigers and Men in Sixteenth‑Century Costumec. 1828–29Watercolour Catalogue.
Nineteen Studies of Heads and Skulls of Lionsc. 1828–30Drawing Catalogue.
Tiger Lying at the Entrance of Its Lairc. 1828–30Etching Catalogue.
The Murder of the Bishop of Liège1829Oil painting Catalogue.
Royal Tiger1829Lithograph Catalogue.
Lion of the Atlas Mountains1829–30Lithograph Catalogue.
Young Tiger Playing with Its Mother (Study of Two Tigers)1830Oil painting Catalogue.
The Battle of Poitiers1830Oil painting Catalogue.
The Battle of Nancy and the Death of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, January 5, 14771831Oil painting Catalogue.
Boissy d’Anglas at the Convention, sketch1831Oil painting Catalogue.
Interior of a Dominican Convent in Madrid (L’Amende Honorable)1831Oil painting Catalogue.
Jewish Woman of Tangier1832Drawing Catalogue.
Portrait of Schmareck, Tanner at Tangier1832Watercolour Catalogue.
Standing Moroccan1832Watercolour Catalogue.
A Man of Tangier1832Watercolour Catalogue.
Saada, the Wife of Abraham Ben‑Chimol, and Préciada, One of Their Daughters1832Watercolour Catalogue.
Street in Meknes1832Oil painting Catalogue.
Moroccan Military Exercises1832Oil painting Catalogue.
Arab Cavalry Practicing a Charge (Fantaisie Arabe)1833Oil painting Catalogue.
A Blacksmith1833Aquatint Catalogue.
Collision of Arab Horsemen1833/34Oil painting Catalogue.
Figure Study for “The Women of Algiers”1833/34Watercolour Catalogue.
Women of Algiers in Their Apartment1834Oil painting Catalogue.
The Natchez1823–24 and 1835Oil painting Catalogue.
Christ on the Cross1835Oil painting Catalogue.
Hamlet and Horatio in the Graveyard1835Oil painting Catalogue.
Combat of the Giaour and Hassan1835Oil painting Catalogue.
Léon Riesener (1808–1878)1835Oil painting Catalogue.
Madame Henri François Riesener (Félicité Longrois, 1786–1847)1835Oil painting Catalogue.
Saint Sebastian Tended by the Holy Women1836Oil painting Catalogue.
Medea About to Kill Her Children, sketchc. 1836Oil painting Catalogue.
Moroccan Chieftain Receiving Tribute1837Oil painting Catalogue.
Self‑Portrait in a Green Vestc. 1837Oil painting Catalogue.
Medea About to Kill Her Children (Medée furieuse)1838Oil painting Catalogue.
Cleopatra and the Peasant1838Oil painting Catalogue.
Hamlet and Horatio in the Graveyard1839Oil painting Catalogue.
Startled Arabian Horse in a Landscapec. 1835–40Watercolour Catalogue.
The Shipwreck of Don Juan1840Oil painting Catalogue.
Christ on the Lake of Genesareth (Portland version)c. 1853Oil painting Catalogue.
Pietà, first sketchby 1843Oil painting Catalogue.
Pietà, second sketchby 1843Oil painting Catalogue.
Christ on the Cross, sketch1845Oil painting Catalogue.
Christ on the Cross1846Oil painting Catalogue.
Death of Sardanapalus (Philadelphia replica)1844 / 1845–46Oil painting Catalogue.
The Abduction of Rebecca1846Oil painting Catalogue.
The Lamentation (Christ at the Tomb)1847–48Oil painting Catalogue.
Arab Players1848Oil painting Catalogue.
Arch of Morning Glories, study for “Basket of Flowers”1848/49Pastel Catalogue.
Basket of Flowers1848–49Oil painting Catalogue.
Basket of Flowers and Fruit1849Oil painting Catalogue.
Basket of Flowersc. 1848–50Oil painting Catalogue.
Christ at the Columnprobably 1849Oil painting Catalogue.
Landscape at Champrosaypossibly 1849Oil painting Catalogue.
Michelangelo in His StudioAbout1849–50Oil painting Catalogue.
View in the Forest of Sénartc. 1849–50Oil painting Catalogue.
Forest View with an Oak Treec. 1849–50Watercolour Catalogue.
The Triumph of Genius over Envyc. 1849–51Drawing Catalogue.
Jacob Struggling with the Angel1850Drawing Catalogue.
Jacob Wrestling with the Angel1850Drawing Catalogue.
Jacob Wrestling with the Angel1850Oil painting Catalogue.
Sunsetc. 1850Pastel Catalogue.
Apollo Slays the Python, sketchc. 1850Oil painting Catalogue.
Apollo Victorious over the Serpent Python, sketchc. 1850Oil painting Catalogue.
PietàAbout1850Oil painting Catalogue.
The Agony in the Garden1851Oil painting Catalogue.
Study of the Sea1851(?)Watercolour Catalogue.
Marphise1852Oil painting Catalogue.
The Sea at Dieppe1852Oil painting Catalogue.
Christ Asleep during the Tempestc. 1853Oil painting Catalogue.
Saint Stephen Borne Away by His Disciples1853Oil painting Catalogue.
Christ on the Sea of Galilee1854Oil painting Catalogue.
The Sea at Dieppeprobably 1854Watercolour Catalogue.
A Lion and a Tiger, Fightingc. 1854Drawing Catalogue.
Lion Hunt, sketch1854Oil painting Catalogue.
Lion Hunt (fragment)1855Oil painting Catalogue.
Lion Hunt1855–56Oil painting Catalogue.
Hilly Landscapec. 1855Oil painting Catalogue.
The Sultan of Morocco and His Entourage1856Oil painting Catalogue.
The Bride of Abydos (Selim and Zuleika)1857Oil painting Catalogue.
Lamentation over the Body of Christ1857Oil painting Catalogue.
Abduction of Rebecca1858Oil painting Catalogue.
Ovid among the Scythians1859Oil painting Catalogue.
Amadis de Gaule Delivers a Damsel from Galpan’s Castle1859–60Oil painting Catalogue.
Arab Horses Fighting in a Stable1860Oil painting Catalogue.
Shipwreck on the Coast1862Oil painting Catalogue.
The Battle of Taillebourg won by Saint Louis (Château de Versailles)1837Oil on canvas Catalogue.
Christ on the Lake of Gennezaret (Christ Asleep during the Tempest) (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)About 1853Oil on canvas Catalogue.
The Coast of Spain at Salabrena (Christie’s 1998 sale 6059, lot 123)19 January 1832Pen and ink Catalogue.
Crouching Tiger (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)1839Pen and ink Catalogue.
The Education of Achilles (J. Paul Getty Museum)1862Pastel Catalogue.
Fallen Warriors and a Runaway Horse (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)1862Pen and ink Catalogue.
George Sand's Garden at Nohant (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)About 1842–43Oil on canvas Catalogue.
The Giaour on Horseback (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)1824–26Pen and ink Catalogue.
Lion Hunt (Art Institute of Chicago)1860–61; signed 1861Oil on canvas Catalogue.
Figure Studies related to Liberty Leading the People1830Pen and brown ink, brush and brown wash Catalogue.
Chios: Head, Shoulder and Foot Studies1823Graphite Catalogue.
Figure Studies for the Salon du Roi, Palais Bourbon1833–35Pen and iron gall ink Catalogue.
Four Studies of Horses1824–25Pen, ink, black wash and graphite (recto); graphite (verso) Catalogue.
Studies of a Horse and Rider for Heliodorus Driven from the Temple1849–50Pen and iron gall ink, graphite Catalogue.
Liberty Leading the People1830Oil on canvas Catalogue.
Massacre at Chios1824Oil on canvas Catalogue.
Death of Sardanapalus (Louvre original)1827Oil on canvas Catalogue.
Barque of Dante1822Oil painting Catalogue.
Orphan Girl at the Cemetery1824Oil painting Catalogue.
Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (Saint-Sulpice wall painting)Completed 1861Wall painting Catalogue.
Heliodorus Driven from the Temple (Saint-Sulpice wall painting)Completed 1861Wall painting Catalogue.
African Pirates Abducting a Young Woman1852Oil painting Catalogue.
An Arab Horseman at the Gallop1849Oil painting Catalogue.
Arabs Skirmishing in the Mountains1863Oil painting Catalogue.
Moroccan Horseman Crossing a FordAbout 1850Oil painting Catalogue.
A Moroccan (Arab) Saddling a Horse1855Oil painting Catalogue.
The Execution of the Doge Marino Faliero1825–26Oil painting Catalogue.
Christopher Columbus and his Son at La Rábida1838Oil painting Catalogue.
Horse Frightened by Lightning1825–29Watercolour Catalogue.
Horses Leaving the Sea1860Oil painting Catalogue.
Tiger with a Tortoise1862Oil painting Catalogue.
TigerAbout1830Watercolour Catalogue.
Tiger and Snake1862Oil painting Catalogue.
Tiger Hunt1854Oil painting Catalogue.
Lion Hunt in Morocco1854Oil painting Catalogue.
Lion Rending Apart a CorpseAbout1848;historical catalogue placementWatercolour Catalogue.
Frederic Chopin1838Oil painting Catalogue.
Portrait of George Sand1838Oil painting Catalogue.
Portrait of Frédéric Chopin and George Sand1838Oil painting Catalogue.
Mademoiselle RoseAbout 1820Oil painting Catalogue.
Head of a Woman in a Red Turban1831; archive dateOil painting Catalogue.
Two Views of a Standing Indian from CalcuttaAbout 1823–24Oil painting Catalogue.
Last Words of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius1844Oil painting Catalogue.
Entry of the Crusaders in Constantinople1840Oil painting Catalogue.
Medea1862Oil painting Catalogue.
The Death of Laras1858Oil painting Catalogue.
The Bride of AbydosAbout 1852–53; dating disputedOil painting Catalogue.
The Bride of LammermoorAbout1826Watercolour Catalogue.
Cromwell at Windsor Castle1828Oil painting Catalogue.
Milton Dictated to his Daughters the Paradise Lost1827–28Oil painting Catalogue.
Tasso in the Madhouse1839Oil painting Catalogue.
Christ on the Cross1853Oil painting Catalogue.
The Disciples at Emmaus1853Oil painting Catalogue.
The Entombment of ChristNineteenth century; precise date unestablishedOil painting Catalogue.
Fanatics of Tangier1837–38Oil painting Catalogue.
Jewish BrideUndated; Moroccan subject associated with the1832journeyWatercolour Catalogue.
Jewish Wedding in Morocco1839; Salon1841Oil painting Catalogue.
Moroccan Fantasia1847Oil painting Catalogue.
The Sultan of Morocco1845Oil painting Catalogue.
Bouquet of Flowers 18431843Watercolour Catalogue.
Bouquet of Flowers, 18491849Watercolour Catalogue.
Cliffs Near Dieppe1852–55Watercolour Catalogue.
The Edge of a Wood at Nohantc.1842/1843Watercolour Catalogue.
Still Life with Lobsters1826–27Oil on canvas Catalogue.
A Corner of the Studio (attribution disputed)1825–1850; attribution disputedOil on canvas Catalogue.
Study of the Sky at Sunsetc.1849Pastel Catalogue.
Self-Portrait, about 1840c.1840Oil on canvas Catalogue.
Women of Algiers in Their Apartment (1849)1849Oil on canvas Catalogue.
Susanna and the Elders1841Oil on canvas Catalogue.
The Education of Achilles (Drawing)c.1844Graphite Catalogue.
Attila the HunCompleted 1847Mural detail Catalogue.
The Italian Theatre1821Lithograph Catalogue.
A Turkish Man on a Grey HorseUndatedNot specified Catalogue.
Study for The Massacre at ChiosAbout 1823–24Graphite, watercolour and gouache on paper Catalogue.
The Prisoner of Chillon1834; Salon of 1835Oil on canvas Catalogue.
Two Knights Fighting in a LandscapeSecond quarter of the nineteenth century; precise date uncertainOil on canvas; possible later completion Catalogue.

Discussion

Look again at the images and ideas explored in The Bride of Abydos. These editorial prompts invite your observations.

Reader Insights

Editorial prompt · Follow the composition

Follow Zuleika’s two hands to Selim’s shoulder and lower arm. How do they interrupt his outward movement?

Editorial prompt · Look again

Compare the high sabre with the lower pistol. How do the weapons link the couple to pursuit and possible rescue?

Join the Conversation

Share a detail, comparison or question about The Bride of Abydos below.

References

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  54. The National Gallery, London, Louis-Auguste Schwiter, 1826–30, NG 3286; current owner record and in-depth commentary. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
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  57. Musées d’Orléans, Head of an Old Greek Woman, study for Chios,1824,96.2.1; full owner record and commentary. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
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  76. The Walters Art Museum, Christ on the Sea of Galilee,1854,37.186;oil59.8×73.3cm,currentobjectrecord. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  77. Brooklyn Museum, The Disciples at Emmaus,1853,50.106;oil55.2×47cm,currentobjectrecord. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  78. INHA / Joconde, La Mise au tombeau,copyafterTitian,LyonB286;oil40×55.5cm,nineteenthcentury,currentobjectfields. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  79. Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo, Pietà,about1850,NG.M.01179;oil35.6×27cm,currentobjectrecord. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  80. Minneapolis Institute of Art, Convulsionists of Tangier,1837–38,73.42.3;oil95.57×128.59cm,owner-published collection data. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
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  82. Musée du Louvre, Noce juive dans le Maroc,1839,INV3825/LP4737;oil105×140.5cm,Salon1841,currentobjectrecord. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  83. Swiss Federal Office of Culture, Marokkanische Soldaten bei einer Gefechtsübung,1847,SOR1936.3;oil66×82cm,Römerholz,currentobjectrecord. German. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  84. Musée des Augustins, Toulouse, Moulay Abd-er-Rahman,sultan du Maroc,1845,2004 1 99;oil384×344cm,currentobjectrecord. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
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  86. Musée du Louvre, Bouquet de fleurs, 1849, RF 31719, Recto; watercolour, gouache and pastel over black pencil on two joined sheets of grey paper, 65 × 65.4 cm. Current collection record. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  87. Musée Marmottan Monet, Monet collectionneur – Chefs-d’œuvre de sa collection privée, 2017 press dossier, printed p.24 (PDF p.23). Cliffs near Dieppe, 1852–55, watercolour, 20 × 30.7 cm; reproduction and collection history. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  88. National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Edge of a Wood at Nohant, c.1842/1843, accession 1985.16.2; watercolour, 15.5 × 20.5 cm. Current collection record. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  89. Musée du Louvre, La mer vue des hauteurs de Dieppe, RF 1979-46; oil on cardboard glued to wood, 36 × 52 cm. Current collection record; 1852 dating follows the 2018 Delacroix catalogue, no.128. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  90. Musée du Louvre, Nature morte au homard, RF1661,1826–27, oil on canvas80.5×106.5cm. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  91. Musée du Louvre, Coin d’atelier. Le poêle, RF2058,1825–1850,oil51×43.4cm; doubtful signature and disputed attribution. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  92. Musée du Louvre, Etude de ciel au soleil couchant, RF3706 Recto,c1849,pastel on grey paper19.2×23.8cm. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
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  95. Musée Fabre, Femmes d’Alger dans leur intérieur, 1849, 868.1.38, oil on canvas, 85 × 112 cm. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  96. Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Femme caressant un perroquet, 1827, B 566, oil on canvas, 24.8 × 33 cm. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  97. Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, Suzanne et les vieillards, 1841, P 986, oil on canvas, 27 × 35.5 cm. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  98. Kunstmuseum Basel, Ein sterbender Brigant trinkt an einer Quelle, c.1825, 1726, oil on canvas, 32.7 × 40.8 cm. German. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  99. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Education of Achilles, c.1844, 2014.732.3, graphite, 23.6 × 29.7 cm. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  100. Assemblée nationale, Attila and His Hordes Overrun Italy and the Arts, War hemicycle detail, library of the Palais Bourbon, completed 1847, oil and wax on plaster. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  101. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Théâtre Italien, 13 August 1821, 2004.198, lithograph, sheet 25.6 × 18.6 cm. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  102. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Macbeth Consulting the Witches, 1825, 22.63.19, lithograph, third state of five. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  103. Musée du Louvre, Hamlet et Horatio au cimetière, 1839, RF 1942, oil on canvas, 82 × 65 cm. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  104. National Gallery, London, Ovid among the Scythians, 1859, NG6262, oil on canvas, 87.6 × 130.2 cm. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  105. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Abduction of Rebecca, Eugène Louis Lami, 1873, 88.341. Comparative attribution correction; not a Delacroix work. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  106. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Devotion to Drawing: The Karen B. Cohen Collection of Eugène Delacroix, 2018 exhibition overview. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  107. New York Public Library, Print Collection: Print Glossary, definitions of impression, state, edition and processes. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  108. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, CAMEO, Lithograph, planographic printing glossary. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  109. Musée Eugène-Delacroix, Delacroix and colour, 5 July 2022, collection article. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  110. Musée du Louvre, Eugène Delacroix: artist biography. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  111. Eugène Delacroix / Philippe Burty, editor, Lettres (1815–1863), Paris: A. Quantin, 1878, pp. 120–121; the published extract of 25 January 1832 and opening of 8 February. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  112. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, A Wall Decorated in Spanish Tiles, 1832, 2013.1135.16; collection record. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  113. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Mephistopheles in the Air, 1828, 1994.60.13; first state of five. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  114. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Hamlet Sees the Ghost of His Father on the Terrace, 1843, 22.56.7; first state of five. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  115. Eugène Delacroix / Paul Flat and René Piot, editors, Journal, 22 June 1863; Paris: Plon, 1893, volume III, page 438. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  116. Musée du Louvre, Apollo Slays Python, 1850–51; INV 3818. Collection record. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  117. Sotheby’s, A Turkish Man on a Grey Horse, catalogued under Eugène Delacroix; sale N07716, 2001, lot 20. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  118. Splash image, The Bride of Abydos, oil on canvas. Musée du Louvre; RF 1398. Dated about 1852–53 in the 2018 catalogue; the museum record assigns a broader, earlier period. Faithful reproduction via Wikimedia Commons. Image source. Public domain. Whole supplied primary image retained, including documentary/support edges; no appearance editing.