"Greece in the Ruins of Messolonghi": Delacroix's iconic painting comes to Greece

Delacroix’s work is exhibited at the Bordeaux Museum of Fine Arts

One of the most famous philhellene artists, the French painter created this iconic work in 1826, inspired by the Greek battle in the third siege of Messolonghi. The painting, 208 cm high and 147 cm wide, depicts Greece as a mourning woman, in a traditional costume, unbuttoned at the chest and with her arms open, as a sign of despair, standing upright in the ruins of Messolonghi, under which lie the bodies of Greek fighters, while behind her a man symbolizing the enemy nails a flag to the ground.

This is one of the most emblematic artistic recordings of the Greek Revolution from the Holy City of besieged Messolonghi, where the Hymn to Freedom, by our national poet Dionysios Solomos, was first printed in Greek.

“Greece in the Ruins of Messolonghi”: Delacroix’s iconic painting comes to Greece
Eugène Delacroix, the painter who, through his works, carried the voice of the revolutionaries throughout Europe

Delacroix and the inspiration from the Greek Revolution

“When the Turks overtake the wounded on the battlefield, or even the prisoners, they say to them: Do not be afraid, and they hit them in the face with the hilt of their sword to make them bow their heads: they take it from them with a sword stroke!” Delacroix wrote characteristically in his diary in 1822, describing the brutal, blind violence of the Ottomans against the Greeks who were bravely fighting for their freedom.

It was these images that shocked him and pushed him to capture them on his canvas in an effort to support, in his own way, the Greek struggles for national independence, putting his name on the list of the most loyal European Philhellenes

As a fervent supporter of the Greek Struggle, Eugène Delacroix also created other works inspired by the Greek Revolution.
“Greece in the Ruins of Messolonghi”: Delacroix’s iconic painting comes to Greece
“The Massacre of Chios”

Among them, “The Massacre of Chios” stands out, the first large-scale painting he created, in 1824 at the age of just 24, inspired by a real event that occurred two years earlier, on blood-stained Greek soil. The French painter managed to capture with unprecedented fidelity and vividness the horrific image of the inhabitants of Chios who were massacred by the Turks, on Easter Sunday, in the Holy place of the Monastery of Agios Minas, shocking and deeply moving the whole of Europe and strengthening the philhellene movement. This painting was purchased by the French government and is exhibited at the Louvre Museum.
“Greece in the Ruins of Messolonghi”: Delacroix’s emblematic painting comes to Greece
“The Battle of Giaouris and Hassan”

The philhellene works of the important romantic French painter also include his painting “The Battle of Giaouris and Hassan”, which was inspired by the poem by the also great philhellene Lord Byron “The Giaouris”. The painting, which is currently at The Art Institute of Chicago, depicts the dramatic climax of the poem when the giaouris avenges the death of his mistress at the hands of the Turk Hassan.

The bravery and courage of the Greeks fighting for their independence is captured in another work by Eugene Delacroix, “Episode of the Greek Struggle,” which depicts a Greek in a white frock coat, black sash, and embroidered vest and cape, galloping proudly on his horse on the battlefield. This particular painting, which is currently in the National Gallery, is a new version of an older, lost work with the same subject, which the painter had created.