On Delacroix and CourbetThe period from 1781 to 1855 in the history of France is marked by a social and political change, an evolution of ideological struggles towards the best possible political struggle among the defects grounded humans. The artist's life also underwent changes and struggled with the hierarchy that existed to validate artistic triumph. The changes are visible in a broad spectrum, including David, Ingres, history paintings and caricatures. Eugène Delacroix (1789 – 1863) and Gustave Courbet (1819 – 1877) demonstratively embody these changes, united in the vast majority by a passage from acceptance to challenge. The artistic and cultural differences that developed are transparent through the understanding of the paradigmatic differences of these two artists. This essay will identify the motivating factors in the work of both artists, explore the ways in which they interact with each other, and ultimately validate their importance and vitality in the history of French painting. Both Delacroix and Courbet would ultimately be described as triumphants of challenge, holders and facilitators of creativity. To begin with, Courbet is an artist who triumphed over the challenge through definitions. Courbet's work was bold in its subjects, as was the artist's lifestyle. To understand this as an achievement, one must consider an artist directly involved in the pinnacle of the art institution – Delacroix, the Romantic painter. The Romantic painters came from what Baudelaire calls “…the most recent, the last expression of beauty.” Delacroix's work shows an artist who believes in following the path of his predecessors, to grow from what he is given. Courbet's work shows an artist who persists in forging his o...... middle of paper...... "no single center of attention... no exchange of glances or d 'eye... it was a declared lack of meaning which offended the most...' Ultimately, Courbet's vitality lay in his revolutionary approach, which emphasized subjects drawn from contemporary life while rejecting the historical and fictional subjects favored by the French Academy. Courbet and Delacroix both put pointed personal opinions into their paintings. Courbet comes from a time when virtually everything – art, politics, etc. – was pending. Delacroix's place is just before that, after history paintings became suspicious and innovation became feasible. Little remains coherent in French politics or in the art system itself. These two artists paved the way for less resistance and greater embrace of challenge, resulting in the redefinition of challenge as art..