About this programme

The art historian explores the life and work of French painter Eugene Delacroix, whose powerful pictures have proved an inspiration for Picasso, Cezanne and Matisse. Born to a well-to-do family, he was brought up by his aunt after his mother squandered her late husband's fortune, and took his own inspiration from classical mythology as well as actual historical events. A trip to Morocco fed his appetite for the exotic, but it is as an establishment Republican artist that he will be best remembered.