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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
Email: tomgurney1@gmail.com / Phone: +44 7429 011000

Horses Leaving the Sea: Introduction

Two horses emerge from the water, but their movements pull in different directions. The chestnut on the left lifts its head and forequarters towards the open sea; the grey on the right turns towards the shore, its dark mane swept back above a curved neck. Between them, a rider in red holds the group together. In Eugène Delacroix’s Horses Leaving the Sea, arrival on land becomes a moment of unstable balance. The animals overlap so closely that they seem almost entangled, while their heads open the composition outwards.

The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C., owns the painting under the title Horses Coming Out of the Sea. Its record dates this oil on canvas to 1860, gives its dimensions as approximately 51.4 × 61.6 cm and records its acquisition in 1945, with object number 0486. This relatively small canvas holds a broad coastal view, yet the horses and rider command the foreground with the presence of a much larger group.[1] Their encounter with the shore supplies the immediate drama. Behind it lies another kind of encounter: Delacroix brought memories of Morocco into a landscape associated with Normandy.

At a Glance

  • Date1860 [1]
  • MediumOil on canvas [1]
  • Dimensions51.4 × 61.6 cm [1]
  • Collection / recordThe Phillips Collection; 0486 [1]

This work across Eugène Delacroix’s career

Contents

  1. Two horses, two directions
  2. Red at the centre, curves at the edges
  3. The difficult edge of the water
  4. Morocco remembered on a Norman beach
  5. A departure held in balance
  6. Annotated details

Two horses, two directions

The chestnut occupies the left side of the group, with its long body running diagonally up from the water to the raised neck. Its head turns left, away from the direction suggested by the grey horse’s lifted foreleg. Light catches the chestnut’s face and the edges of its mane, but much of its body remains a dense, warm brown. Against the cooler sea, that dark mass makes the animal’s upward movement especially emphatic. Its hindquarters stay low, visually anchoring it in the water even as its front rises.

The grey presents a different pattern. Its head bends to the right, and the arch of its neck continues into the dark, irregular crest of the mane. A raised foreleg introduces a sharp angle beneath these curves. The pale body is broken by shadow and crossed by the rider’s bare leg, so that it never becomes a simple, isolated silhouette. It presses forward into the narrow space between water, rock and beach. The animal appears poised to gain the shore, although the picture leaves that next movement suspended.

The horses’ contrasting directions complicate the title’s suggestion of a procession out of the sea. One seems to surge upwards and back, while the other reaches across towards land. Their bodies bring those impulses together in the middle. The result can suggest resistance or excitement, but the tension is visible without assigning either animal a definite emotion: it lies in the opposed heads, the lifted limbs and the close overlap of the bodies.

The rider sits on the grey horse, with his red clothing appearing between the two necks. One bare leg hangs against the grey flank, and his raised hand gathers looping reins. His body inclines towards the chestnut, complicating any easy division between the horse he rides and the animal alongside him. Rather than standing above the action as a separate commanding figure, he becomes part of its knot of limbs, leather and moving contours. His small, concentrated figure gives the larger animals a point around which their movements can turn.

Red at the centre, curves at the edges

The jacket provides the strongest warm accent near the centre. Its red stands out against the blue-green water, grey sky and subdued coastal greens, drawing attention to the rider before the eye follows the reins out towards the horses’ heads. Smaller red details in the bridles carry that colour into the surrounding group. Colour helps bind the figures together even where their contours pull apart.

The reins are particularly effective because they introduce thin, looping lines among much heavier forms. Their curves pass between the rider’s hand and the animals, echoing the bends of neck and mane without duplicating them. Below, pale lines of foam curl across the darker water. At the lower right, the cropped bow of a boat supplies another broad curve. These repetitions allow the eye to move from the concentrated action of the group into the surrounding shore.

The Phillips Collection’s account relays Duncan Phillips’s interpretation of Delacroix’s energy as disciplined through curved design and balance.[1] Here that observation can be tested against the visible arrangement. The raised heads and limbs give the scene its force, while the low coastline, the expanse of sky and the answering curves keep the group within a larger order. The red jacket fixes a centre without making the composition symmetrical. On either side of it, the horses remain markedly unequal in pose, colour and direction.

The sky occupies a generous portion of the canvas. Its muted blue-grey and broad cloud forms give the eye room to pause above the compact activity below. The horses’ heads rise against this relatively open field, making their profiles legible. Along the horizon, green slopes and a thin scattering of buildings lead towards the right. Their small scale measures the distance behind the foreground animals. Delacroix gives the setting enough definition to feel inhabited, while allowing the horses to retain their commanding proximity.

Explore Delacroix on video

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

The difficult edge of the water

The shore is more than a destination. It breaks into the space of the animals through an uneven edge of sand and rock. Water fills the lower left and laps across the bottom of the picture; pale foam makes interrupted paths around the horses’ legs and towards the beach. The grey horse’s forward movement meets this broken boundary. There is no clear horizontal platform beneath the group, and that absence helps sustain the sense of effort.

At the lower right, the boat is cut off by the canvas edge. Only its near end and part of its interior are visible, but it has considerable weight in the composition. Its dark curved side and upright timber answer the animals’ forms with something solid and stationary. The contrast sharpens the distinction between their animated bodies and the objects waiting on shore. The boat also brings the beach close to the viewer: we encounter its cropped structure before our gaze travels across the bay to the distant houses.

This foreground object matters to the painting’s geography as well. In the 2018 exhibition catalogue Delacroix, the authors identify the boat’s tip with a motif from Delacroix’s oil study of the sea at Dieppe. They locate the green background along the Pays de Caux coast between Dieppe and Fécamp.[8] On that reading, the landscape belongs to Normandy. The distant settlement should therefore not be confidently named as Tangier merely because the horses have a Moroccan connection. The small bow and green coast provide more specific clues than a general impression of the rider’s clothing.

Morocco remembered on a Norman beach

The catalogue traces the horse motif to Delacroix’s journey from Tangier to Meknes, associating it with two horses crossing the Sebou River or fighting in the water.[8] Its wording leaves an uncertainty about the remembered action. It supports a connection with the Moroccan journey, rather than an exact reconstruction of a securely identified instant. The painted group has also been moved from river to sea. Even before questions of costume or identity arise, the composition brings together experiences from different places.

There is a useful documentary distinction between the painting’s working history and its finished date. The catalogue caption gives a range of 1858–60. It also reports a Journal entry of 10 March 1858 in which Delacroix described working on a Dieppe view with a man and two horses coming out of the sea.[8] That reported entry is compatible with the Phillips Collection’s date of 1860. It supplies evidence of work on the subject earlier, without fixing an exact day of completion.

The combination of settings changes how the picture can be understood. Delacroix could return to a remembered animal motif while changing its surroundings. The Norman shore offered the horses a new environment: an open bay, a green headland, a boat close to hand and a broad sky. These elements give the compressed group space and establish the transition towards land. The painting’s unity emerges from their relationships within the rectangle, even though their associations reach across different regions.

The Phillips Collection places the work among Delacroix’s late returns to North African subjects and emphasises the continuing usefulness of sketches made during his travels. It also recounts his view that distance from small details helped him retain the most powerful poetic impressions.[1] The catalogue develops a related account of his notebooks as resources for imagination after the original models were no longer before him.[8] These interpretations help explain the painting’s combination of specific forms and a setting assembled from different memories. They do not make the finished scene a record of one observed coastal event.

A departure held in balance

Knowing the composite geography brings attention back to the visible picture. The boat is both an identifiable link to Dieppe and a dark curve balancing the group. The coast can carry a Norman association while its long, quiet profile sets off the horses’ abrupt movements. Memories of the Sebou contribute the animal motif, but the opposed heads, central red and intersecting reins make the scene work as a single composition. Its sources remain distinct; its visual rhythms connect them.

The painting holds the viewer at a threshold. The horses have emerged far enough for their bodies to dominate the view, yet their legs still meet the water and the chestnut’s movement draws attention back towards it. The grey reaches for land, the rider gathers the reins, and the boat waits at the edge. Across this small canvas, Delacroix sustains both forward movement and a counterpull. Leaving the sea becomes an intricate negotiation of direction, weight and space, made vivid through the remembered meeting of two very different shores.

Annotated Details from Horses Leaving the Sea

The numbered points identify visible features discussed in this article. Return from each detail to the whole composition. Horses Leaving the Sea — Eugène Delacroix Image source. Public domain.

Annotated details from Horses Leaving the Sea by Eugène Delacroix

Details from HORSES LEAVING THE SEA

Compare each detail with the whole composition to follow the relationship between bodies, objects and surrounding space.

1

The red rider between the horses

Red clothing stands out above the grey horse. The rider’s arm and bare leg join the two animals’ directions.

The red rider between the horses detail from Horses Leaving the Sea by Eugène Delacroix
2

The chestnut rises from the water

The dark horse’s raised neck and lifted forelegs interrupt the horizontal bands of water and shore.

The chestnut rises from the water detail from Horses Leaving the Sea by Eugène Delacroix
3

The grey horse meets the shore

A pale flank and bent foreleg carry the movement towards land. Broken light marks the disturbed water beneath.

The grey horse meets the shore detail from Horses Leaving the Sea by Eugène Delacroix
4

A boat at the edge of the view

The cropped boat occupies the near right corner. Its dark edge brings the shoreline close to the viewer.

A boat at the edge of the view detail from Horses Leaving the Sea 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 Horses Leaving the Sea. These editorial prompts invite your observations.

Reader Insights

Editorial prompt · Follow the composition

Compare the horses’ turned heads with the rider’s hands. How are the different movements connected?

Editorial prompt · Look again

Look from the wave edges to the boat at the right. Where does water become shore?

Join the Conversation

Share a detail, comparison or question about Horses Leaving the Sea below.

References

  1. The Phillips Collection, “Horses Coming Out of the Sea,” collection record and interpretation, object 0486, Eugène Delacroix, 1860. The Phillips Collection. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  2. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, “The Giaour on Horseback”, Eugène Delacroix, 1824–26, accession 2015.713.2, collection record and recto image. Source language: English. Accessed 27 October 2026. View source.
  3. Ministère de la Culture, base Joconde, Bataille de Taillebourg. 21 juillet 1242, notice 000PE005883; collection du château de Versailles, MV 2676 / INV 3822 / LP 2780. French. Accessed 27 October 2026. View source.
  4. Asher Miller, compiler, “Checklist,” entries 1–145, in Sébastien Allard and Côme Fabre, Delacroix. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018, pp. 275–297. Basic title, date and medium metadata consulted; not a complete catalogue of the artist’s works. Source language: English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  5. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Eugène Delacroix: Christ Asleep during the Tempest,” collection record, accession 29.100.131, object details and introductory commentary. Source language: English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  6. The Phillips Collection, Horses Coming Out of the Sea,1860,0486; collection record and commentary. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  7. George R. Goldner and Lee Hendrix, with Kelly Pask, European Drawings 2: Catalogue of the Collections. Malibu: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1992, entry 56, p. 140; colour plate 8. Source language: English. Accessed 27 October 2026. View source.
  8. Sébastien Allard and Côme Fabre, Delacroix, exhibition catalogue, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2018, p. 87 and pp. 209–213, especially fig. 91 on p. 209 and the discussion on pp. 211–212. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, catalogue PDF. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  9. Asher Ethan Miller, “Eugène Delacroix, Christ on the Sea of Galilee, 1853 or earlier,” French Paintings and Pastels, 1600–1945, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2021. Narrative and notes, including the revised Portland chronology; Glynnis Napier Stevenson documentation note 1 also consulted. Source language: English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  10. Christie’s, “The Coast of Spain at Salabrena”, Ferdinand-Victor-Eugène Delacroix, Impressionist & 19th Century Art, Pt. II, sale 6059, lot 123, 1998. Object details, sale-room notice and lot essay; unpaginated. Source language: English; artist’s inscription in French. Accessed 27 October 2026. View source.
  11. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Eugène Delacroix: Crouching Tiger”, collection record for accession 2013.1135.5, 1839; object details and curatorial commentary, unpaginated. Source language: English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  12. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, “Fallen Warriors and a Runaway Horse”, collection record, object details, curatorial commentary and collection image; unpaginated. Source language: English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  13. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, “George Sand’s Garden at Nohant,” Eugène Delacroix, collection record, accession 22.27.4; object details and curatorial overview. Source language: English. Accessed 27 October 2026. View source.
  14. Art Institute of Chicago, “Lion Hunt”, collection record, especially “About this artwork”, object information, inscriptions and provenance; unpaginated. Source language: English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  15. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Figure Studies related to Liberty Leading the People, 1830, 2013.1135.12. Visible object metadata and short commentary. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  16. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Head, Shoulder, and Foot, Studies for Scenes from the Chios Massacres, 1823, 2013.1135.22. Visible object metadata and commentary. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  17. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Figure Studies for the Salon du Roi, Palais Bourbon, 1833–35, 2013.1135.24. Visible metadata and commentary. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  18. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Four Studies of Horses, 1824–25, 2024.591.65. Recto and verso metadata and commentary. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  19. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Studies of a Horse and Rider for Heliodorus Driven from the Temple, 1849–50, 2024.591.78. Visible metadata and commentary. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  20. Musée du Louvre, Le 28 juillet 1830. La Liberté guidant le peuple, RF 129, 1830. Object details and historical record. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  21. Musée du Louvre, Scènes des massacres de Scio, INV 3823, 1824. Object details and historical record. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  22. Musée du Louvre, Mort de Sardanapale, RF 2346, 1827. Object details and historical record. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  23. Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Death of Sardanapalus, object 82626, 1986-26-17, dated 1844. Heading and short commentary; dating differs from the 2018 catalogue. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  24. Musée du Louvre, Dante et Virgile, dit aussi La barque de Dante, INV 3820, 1822; object metadata and history. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  25. Musée du Louvre, Jeune orpheline au cimetière, RF 1652, 1824; object metadata and history. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  26. Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, La Grèce sur les ruines de Missolonghi, Bx E 439, 1826; collection record and audio transcript. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  27. Ville de Paris, Retrouvez les chefs d’œuvres de Delacroix à la chapelle des Saints-Anges de Saint-Sulpice, updated 30 November 2016; chapel commission/completion and material history. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  28. Musée du Louvre, Pirates africains enlevant une jeune femme, RF 1965 9, 1852; object record, interpretation and provenance. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  29. Qatar Museums, Tales of a Connected World: About the Galleries; Arab Horseman at the Gallop, 1849, Lusail Museum Collection, and Delacroix’s Gaze. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  30. National Gallery of Art, Arabs Skirmishing in the Mountains, 1863, 1966.12.1; object metadata, interpretation and provenance. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  31. J. Paul Getty Museum, Moroccan Horseman Crossing a Ford, about 1850, 2001.42; Getty-authored commentary and metadata on Google Arts & Culture. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  32. State Hermitage Museum, Moroccan Saddling a Horse, 1855, ГЭ-3852; complete indexed Russian owner text and object fields. Russian. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  33. Paris Musées / Petit Palais, Le Combat du Giaour et du Pacha,1835,PDUT1162; object record and interpretation. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  34. Art Institute of Chicago, The Combat of the Giaour and Hassan,1826; owner-authored Google Arts & Culture object record. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  35. Ackland Art Museum, Cleopatra and the Peasant,1838,59.15.1; indexed owner object fields. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  36. The Wallace Collection, The Execution of the Doge Marino Faliero,1825–26,P282; object record and description. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  37. National Gallery of Art, Christopher Columbus and His Son at La Rábida,1838,1963.10.127; object record and provenance. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  38. Musée d’Orsay, Chevaux arabes se battant dans une écurie,1860,RF1988; indexed owner object fields. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  39. Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest / Zsuzsa Gonda, Horse Frightened by Lightning,1825–29,D_1935-2698; owner-authored Google Arts & Culture record and essay. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  40. Musée du Louvre, Jeune Tigre jouant avec sa mère,1830,RF1943; full object record and history. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  41. Christie’s, Tigre jouant avec une tortue,1862; Rockefeller2018 sale16718 lot3, record and essay. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  42. National Gallery of Art, Tiger, about1830,1943.3.3375; indexed owner record, inscription and visual description. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  43. National Gallery of Art, Tiger and Snake,1862,2014.136.30; indexed owner record, provenance and visual description. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  44. Musée d’Orsay, Chasse au tigre,1854,RF1814; indexed owner record and commentary. French/English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  45. State Hermitage Museum, Lion Hunt in Morocco,1854,3853; official guide2014,entry195,pp248–249. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  46. Alfred Robaut / Ernest Chesneau, L’Œuvre complet de Eugène Delacroix,1885,p279,entry1054,watercolour Lion déchirant un cadavre. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  47. Musée du Louvre, Frédéric Chopin, 1838, RF 1717; current owner record of the surviving fragment. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  48. Museum Ordrupgaard, George Sand, 1838, 280WH; current owner dimensions/materials/signature record. Danish. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  49. Musée du Louvre, Preparatory study for Chopin and George Sand, circa 1838, RF 9357; owner record and commentary. French/English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  50. Musée du Louvre, Portrait de Léon Riesener, 1835, RF 1960 58; current owner metadata, label transcription and commentary. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  51. 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.
  52. Musée du Louvre, Nu assis, dit Mademoiselle Rose, about 1820, RF 1942 14; complete owner object record. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  53. Musée Fabre, Étude d’après le modèle Aspasie, about 1824, 868.1.36; current owner fields and short commentary. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  54. 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.
  55. Art Fund, Head of a Woman in Red Turban By Lamplight; archive date1831, rounded dimensions and1962acquisition support; archive cautions record notupdated. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  56. National Gallery of Art, Two Studies of a Standing Indian from Calcutta,c1823/1824,2006.128.18; current owner record and visual description. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  57. National Gallery of Art, Two Studies of an Indian from Calcutta,Seated and Standing,c1823/1824,2006.128.19; separate comparative canvas,current owner record. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  58. Musée du Louvre, The Assassination of the Bishop of Liège,1829,RF1961 13; complete owner fields and selected provenance. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  59. Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nancy, The Battle of Nancy, signed1831,177; current object fields, narrative and acquisition history. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  60. Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Last Words of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius,1844,A2928; complete owner record and interpretation. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  61. Mar Borobia, Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, The Duke of Orléans Showing His Lover,about1825–26,127(1977.19); complete object record and essay. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  62. Musée du Louvre, Entry of the Crusaders in Constantinople,1840,INV3821/LP4674; current owner description, commission and provenance. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  63. Musée du Louvre, Medea,1862,RF1402; later variant of the1838Lilleoriginal,current object record. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  64. Musée du Louvre, The Shipwreck of Don Juan,1840,RF359; current owner fields and1883gift record. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  65. Musée du Louvre, The Bride of Abydos,RF1398; current dimensions/bequest and broad date differing from the2018catalogue. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  66. Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille, Medea About to Kill Her Children,1838,P542; the earlier large original,current owner record. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  67. Kimbell Art Museum, Selim and Zuleika,1857,AP1986.04; separate final version, complete indexed owner narrative/provenance. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  68. Art Gallery of Ontario, The Bride of Lammermoor,about1826,80/83; graphite,watercolour andgouache,collection/provenance record. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  69. Christie’s, Cromwell at Windsor Castle,1828,Johnson129;2002auction record/lotessay and1831Salon listing. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  70. Musée Fabre, Michelangelo in His Studio,1850,868.1.40;current object fields andinterpretive notice. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  71. Kunsthaus Zürich, Milton Dictating Paradise Lost to His Daughters,1827–28,1988/0028;current ownerPDF. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  72. Sammlung Oskar Reinhart Am Römerholz, Tasso in the Madhouse,1839,oil60×50cm;owner object record. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  73. The National Gallery, London, Christ on the Cross,1853,NG6433;oil73.5×59.7cm,currentobjectrecord. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  74. 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.
  75. Brooklyn Museum, The Disciples at Emmaus,1853,50.106;oil55.2×47cm,currentobjectrecord. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  76. INHA / Joconde, La Mise au tombeau,copyafterTitian,LyonB286;oil40×55.5cm,nineteenthcentury,currentobjectfields. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  77. Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo, Pietà,about1850,NG.M.01179;oil35.6×27cm,currentobjectrecord. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  78. 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.
  79. Musée du Louvre, Mariée juive à Tanger,undated,RF4614Recto;watercolour/graphite28.5×23.2cm,currentobjectrecord. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  80. Musée du Louvre, Noce juive dans le Maroc,1839,INV3825/LP4737;oil105×140.5cm,Salon1841,currentobjectrecord. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  81. Swiss Federal Office of Culture, Marokkanische Soldaten bei einer Gefechtsübung,1847,SOR1936.3;oil66×82cm,Römerholz,currentobjectrecord. German. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  82. 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.
  83. French Ministry of Culture / Musée Fabre, Bouquet de fleurs, 1843, inventory 876.3.101; black pencil and watercolour, 20.5 × 26.4 cm. Current Joconde collection record. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  84. 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.
  85. 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.
  86. 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.
  87. 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.
  88. Musée du Louvre, Nature morte au homard, RF1661,1826–27, oil on canvas80.5×106.5cm. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  89. 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.
  90. 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.
  91. Ministero della Cultura / Gallerie degli Uffizi, Autoritratto di Delacroix,0900099717,Inv1890no3914,c1840,oil66×54cm; complete six-page SIGEC record. Italian. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  92. Musée du Louvre / Musée national Eugène-Delacroix, Portrait de Delacroix en Hamlet, formerly Ravenswood,MD2021-2/RF1953-38,c1821,oil41×33cm. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  93. 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.
  94. 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.
  95. 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.
  96. 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.
  97. 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.
  98. 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.
  99. 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.
  100. 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.
  101. Musée du Louvre, Hamlet et Horatio au cimetière, 1839, RF 1942, oil on canvas, 82 × 65 cm. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  102. National Gallery, London, Ovid among the Scythians, 1859, NG6262, oil on canvas, 87.6 × 130.2 cm. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  103. 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.
  104. 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.
  105. New York Public Library, Print Collection: Print Glossary, definitions of impression, state, edition and processes. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  106. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, CAMEO, Lithograph, planographic printing glossary. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  107. Musée Eugène-Delacroix, Delacroix and colour, 5 July 2022, collection article. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  108. Musée du Louvre, Eugène Delacroix: artist biography. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  109. 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.
  110. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, A Wall Decorated in Spanish Tiles, 1832, 2013.1135.16; collection record. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  111. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Mephistopheles in the Air, 1828, 1994.60.13; first state of five. English. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  112. 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.
  113. 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.
  114. Musée du Louvre, Apollo Slays Python, 1850–51; INV 3818. Collection record. French. Accessed 28 October 2026. View source.
  115. 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.