Rebecca and the Wounded Ivanhoe

Rebecca and the Wounded Ivanhoe was painted by Eugène Delacroix in 1823, as documented in the work’s catalogue entry and confirmed by the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s acquisition records. The oil on canvas measures 64.5 × 53.7 cm and illustrates a scene from Chapter 29 of Walter Scott’s novel Ivanhoe, showing the injured knight struggling from his sickbed while Rebecca tends to him in the fortress of Torquilstone. This composition represents Delacroix’s initial exploration of Scott’s literary themes, a subject popular among French Romantic artists.

The painting remained in private hands until it entered the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection in 2019, where it is presently exhibited.

Rebecca and the Wounded Ivanhoe is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The museum acquired the 1823 oil painting in 2019. While the work is part of the museum's permanent holdings, the provided sources do not specify a unique inventory or accession number for the piece.

Furthermore, the available documentation does not record a specific exhibition history, such as past showings or loan dates, prior to or following its acquisition by the institution. The painting remains in the museum's collection as a significant example of Eugène Delacroix's early Romantic work depicting a scene from Walter Scott's novel.

Created in 1823, Eugène Delacroix's Rebecca and the Wounded Ivanhoe marks a pivotal moment in the artist's career as his first depiction of a subject drawn from Sir Walter Scott's 1819 novel Ivanhoe. This choice aligns Delacroix with other French Romantics who frequently looked to Scott, Lord Byron, and William Shakespeare for inspiration. The work exemplifies the Romantic movement's focus on dramatic emotion and literary narrative, situating the painting alongside major contemporaries like The Barque of Dante.

Although the Metropolitan Museum of Art did not acquire the canvas until 2019, the piece remains a significant early example of Delacroix's engagement with English literature. Scholarship, including critical catalogues by Lee Johnson and exhibition publications by the Met, recognizes this oil painting as a foundational work that bridges Delacroix's early style with his later masterpieces.

Eugène Delacroix's 1823 oil painting, Rebecca and the Wounded Ivanhoe, captures a dramatic moment from Walter Scott's popular novel. This early work by the French Romantic artist depicts the titular characters within their prison at Torquilstone castle. The piece is now part of the collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.