Man in Armour on Horseback, with Studies of a Horse's Head and Cats' Heads

This drawing appears to be preparatory (in reverse) for Delacroix's lithograph of 1829, Duguesclin au château de Pontorson, created for the Chroniques de France, although there are some differences to the final composition, notably the position of the horse. Other preparatory drawings for the lithograph exist, including Duguesclin à cheval, entouré de soldats et de femmes, près d'un château-fort (also in reverse), at the Louvre (inv. no. RF 3377; see: M. Sérullaz, Inventaire Général des dessins école Française: Dessins d'Eugéne Delacroix 1798-1863, Paris, 1984, p. 111, no. 148, ill.).

Whilst Delacroix painted lions and tigers frequently, the studies of cats' heads in the present drawing illustrate his fascination with the domestic animal. The art critic Jules Champfleury said of Delacroix's relationship with cats: 'At the head of the list of contemporary artists who have studied and painted the cat, stands Delacroix, a man of febrile and nervous temperament. The sketch-books sold after his death hear witness to his persevering studies of that animal. Nevertheless, there are no cats in his pictures, and for this reason: Delacroix made tigers of his cats! ... It is unfortunate, however, that the Romantic master did not leave behind any paintings of cats; he knew them better than anyone else and would have found in their faces ample material to exercise his active imagination.' (J. Champfleury, Les chats: Histoire; Moeurs; Observations; Anecdotes, Paris, 1869, pp. 125-6).