E. J. (Etienne Jean) Delécluze

Born in Paris on February 26, 1781, Étienne-Jean Delécluze studied painting with the leading Neoclassical artist Jacques-Louis David from the late 1790s. Although he began as a painter, he became better known as a writer and critic, using his firsthand knowledge of artists and studios to describe the fast-changing world of French art.

Delécluze wrote extensively about painting, exhibitions, and artistic debates, and he is often valued today as an unusually observant witness to the cultural life of early 19th-century France. His memoirs and critical works helped preserve memories of David and the generation shaped by the French Revolution and its aftermath.

He died at Versailles on July 12, 1863. For readers now, his appeal lies in the way he connects art, personality, and history, making the people and arguments of his era feel immediate and human.