Delacroix's Divan

In the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the Musee Eugene Delacroix preserves his last apartment where he lived while he worked on a commission for the nearby St. Sulpice church. The apartment rooms themselves are small and unremarkable. I walked right by the entrance three times; only a small brass plaque distinguishes it from the neighboring florist and fine textiles trader across the street. Delacroix was a painter and it is his studio which is worth seeing. Two perhaps three stories high, it is situated in a back garden. A large window stretching from table height to the ceiling gives a view of a green garden and the wall of a facing building covered in leafy vines and plants. Sitting in the studio, there is not only light, but the illusion of sitting in a verdant cover, absolutely quiet, none of the sound, smell or sight of the business of the city life steps away. Here Delacroix could pursue his work, which I think of as the action-thriller movie of his time – battles, deaths, desire, and madness. A bit melodramatic for me, but capturing the turning point in action and sentiment.