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What event is shown in The Massacre at Chios?
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Eugène Delacroix
Liberty Leading the People, oil on canvas by Eugène Delacroix, 1830; in the Louvre, Paris.
The Massacre at Chios (1824) by Eugène Delacroix depicts the contemporary massacre of Greeks by Turks on the island of Chios in 1822.1
This event occurred during the War of Greek Independence, a conflict that garnered significant public sympathy and support across Western Europe. In the painting, Delacroix captures the horror and despair of the Greek victims alongside the haughty pride of the conquerors, set against a vast sky. The work is noted for its luminous tonalities, which were reportedly inspired by the style of the English painter John Constable.21