03 — ARTWORK
Attila and his Hordes Overrun Italy and the Arts (detail)
- MEDIUM
- Oil and virgin wax on plaster
- TYPE
- Historical
PALETTE
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- FILE
- 906 × 1110 px · JPEG
COMMENTARY
UNDERLINED TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE GLOSSARY.
Delacroix decorated the walls of the library of the Palais Bourbon: two great semidomes eleven metres by eight situated on either side of the room. Delacroix decided to decorate them with allegorical subjects, one representing barbarity, Attila and His Hordes Overrun Italy and the Arts, and the other civilisation: Orpheus Civilizes the Greeks. There were in addition five little domes or bays, which would present the divisions adopted in all libraries, while not following the classification too exactly: Sciences, Philosophy, Legislation, Theology and Poetry.
By making such a striking contrast between his two allegorical subjects, Delacroix contrived to symbolise War and Peace, the two poles of human conduct.
CITE THIS RECORD — BIBTEX
@online{wga-rc79849340a7e9d,
author = {Krén, Emil and Marx, Daniel},
title = {Attila and his Hordes Overrun Italy and the Arts (detail) by DELACROIX, Eugène},
organization = {{Web Gallery of Art}},
date = {2026-09-09},
url = {https://beta.wga.hu/artists/delacroix-eugne-r44dd9951dc0def/attila-and-his-hordes-overrun-italy-and-the-arts-detail-rc79849340a7e9d},
urldate = {2026-09-09},
langid = {english}
}ACCESSED 2026-09-09. REPLACE THE AUTHOR FIELD WITH THE COMMENTARY AUTHOR WHERE ONE IS NAMED.
