| The Death of Sardanapalus | |
|---|---|
| French: La Mort de Sardanapale | |
 | |
| Artist | Eugène Delacroix |
| Year | 1827 and 1844 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 392 cm × 496 cm (154 in × 195 in) and 73.71 cm × 82.47 cm (29.02 in × 32.47 in) |
| Location | Musée du Louvre, Paris and Philadelphia Museum of Art |
The Death of Sardanapalus (La Mort de Sardanapale) is an oil painting on canvas by the French artist Eugène Delacroix, dated 1827. It is now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris.[1] A smaller replica, painted by Delacroix in 1844, is now in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.[2]
The Death of Sardanapalus is based on the tale of Sardanapalus, a king of Assyria, from the historical library of Diodorus Siculus, the ancient Greek historian, and is a work of the era of Romanticism. This painting uses rich, vivid and warm colours, and broad brushstrokes. It was inspired by Lord Byron's play Sardanapalus (1821), and in turn inspired a cantata by Hector Berlioz, Sardanapale (1830), and also Franz Liszt's opera, Sardanapalo (1845–1852, unfinished).