Two Studies of an Indian from Calcutta, Seated and Standing

Delacroix's Two Studies of an Indian from Calcutta from around 1823-1824 were companion studies made from a live model in Paris, part of the broader Romantic interest in the non-Western world that made 'Oriental' and exotic subjects fashionable in French painting of the period. The subjects were likely Indian sailors or servants who had arrived in France through the East India trade, providing Parisian artists with living models for the 'Oriental' figures that appeared increasingly in their historical and genre paintings. Delacroix's careful study of Indian physiognomy and clothing documents the cultural encounter that was reshaping European consciousness through colonial commerce, before his own direct experience of North Africa in 1832 transformed his approach to non-European subjects.

The paired studies show Delacroix's figure painting at its most direct and observational. The warm, varied flesh tones and fluid brushwork capture the model's physical presence with remarkable sensitivity. The loose, atmospheric handling creates a sense of immediacy that distinguishes these studies from more formal academic figure painting.