L’Entrée des croisés à Constantinople

This painting depicts the entry of the crusaders into Constantinople in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade. Instead of continuing toward the Holy Land, the crusaders seized the capital of the Byzantine Empire, causing a profound shock in both the eastern and western Christian worlds. The work stages military victory, but also the violence, disorder, and suffering that accompanied the capture of the city. Painted in 1840 by Eugène Delacroix, it reflects the Romantic fascination with the great dramas of medieval history and with episodes in which triumph and tragedy are closely intertwined.