The Massacre of Chios is a painting produced around 1824 by French artist Eugène Delacroix
The key subject is on the horror of wartime destruction during the militant attack on Chios, Greece by Turkish forces. The attack resulted in the death of thousands and those survived were severely injured.A very intolerable scene composed with crushed victims, military might, disease and death signifies the dismay of a horrifying massacre. The characters are harshly presented to the viewer in a manner, which is drooping, chaotic and erratically distributed.
Delacroix commented – “The intelligence of the onlooker was unable to make its way into a subject in which every detail is isolated, where the eye cannot unravel the confused lines and colours, and where the primary rule of art appear to have been ignored by prejudice”
The work can be viewed at Museum Louvre
Artist: Eugène Delacroix
Location: Museum Louvre
Medium: Oil on Canvas