Art History 6C Paper- Prompt 2- Delacroix vs. Vigée-Lebrun– This article will be structured as a dialogue between Sam, the collector and Sanket, the consultant. –Sam: Sanket, should I buy the self-portrait of Eugéne Delacroix or Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun? Frankly, I don't have enough money to buy both. Sanket: Sam, I know you as a man of good taste. You are a man who would like a portrait to represent the artist's personality. I'm sure you would prefer Delacroix to Vigée-Lebrun, because Delacroix represented his emotions and nature in his artwork. Sanket: It is clear from the use of lines that Delacroix wanted to show his confident and firm nature. The rigid lines from the eyebrow furrow to the lip lines form a very rigid outline of her face. This contour shows her strong nature through the bold lines of her face. In contrast, Vigée-Lebrun uses very circular, thin and defined lines. Using lines in this way creates a very soft image; however, this may not have to do with the nature of the artist. In neoclassical paintings, women were depicted with thin curved lines that highlighted the fragility of femininity. Vigée-Lebrun probably used lines in a similar way limiting his own personal style in his portrait. On the other hand, Delacroix uses lines to show his nature and artistic style. Sam: Coming to a conclusion based solely on the lines used by an artist is not very reassuring. Sanket: It's more than just lines! Artists can use space to focus on objects in their artwork. Delacroix uses the space to focus on his body in the portrait by removing all objects from the background of the image. Viewers are forced to look away from the mundane background and to... the center of the paper... it's actually a choice the artist made to better fit the theme of the artwork. Delacroix most likely used the broad brushstrokes used in the background and clothing to demonstrate that the painting was not realistic. He wanted to show that the painting was his creation that followed his style and personality. In contrast, Vigée-Lebrun followed the rules set by neoclassical art. His brushwork was not visible, it looked fragile, and all parts of the painting looked ideal. While Vigée-Lebrun probably spent more time hiding his brushstrokes, Delacroix is ​​the more skilled artist because he managed to capture his personality in his works. Sam: I'm convinced. Delacroix used his skills to create a work of art that conveyed his personality, while Vigée-Lebrun used his skills to create a work of art that followed a strict set of apathetic guidelines..