Charles-François Delacroix
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Charles-François Delacroix (; or Lacroix; 15 April 1741 – 26 October 1805) was a French statesman who became Minister of Foreign Affairs under the Directory. The painter
Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( ; ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French people, French Romanticism, Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: ...
was his fourth son, although doubts have been cast on his paternity.


Early life

Charles-François Delacroix was born in Givry-en-Argonne on 15 April 1741. He married Victoire Oëbène, daughter of the cabinet-maker Jean-François Oeben. Victoire's uncle Henri-François Riesener was a distinguished painter. They had four children. Charles-Henri Delacroix (9 January 1779 – 30 December 1845) became a soldier, and rose to the rank of General in the Napoleonic army. Henriette was born in 1780. She married the diplomat Raymond de Verninac Saint-Maur (1762–1822). Henri was born six year later. He was killed at the
Battle of Friedland The Battle of Friedland (14 June 1807) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars between the armies of the French Empire commanded by Napoleon I and the armies of the Russian Empire led by General Levin August von Bennigsen. Napoleon and t ...
on 14 June 1807. The youngest child was the future painter
Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( ; ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French people, French Romanticism, Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: ...
(1798–1863). When Eugène was born the gossip in Paris had it that Delacroix had been succeeded in his bed by the man who had succeeded him at his desk, Maurice de Talleyrand. On 13 September 1797, the surgeon Imbert-Delonnes removed a "monstrous tumor" of twenty-eight pounds, in which were tangled "the most delecate masculine organs". The tumor apparently would have rendered him impotent. Whatever the truth, it seems certain that Charles was sent away to the Hague to avoid the gossip.


Career

Delacroix was secretary to
Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de l'Aulne ( ; ; 10 May 172718 March 1781), commonly known as Turgot, was a French economist and statesman. Sometimes considered a physiocrat, he is today best remembered as an early advocate for economic liber ...
(1727–1781), Minister of Finance during the reign of
Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...
of France. During the French Revolution (1789–1799), he became a deputy to the
National Convention The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...
and voted for the death of the king. Delacroix and
Georges Danton Georges Jacques Danton (; ; 26 October 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a leading figure of the French Revolution. A modest and unknown lawyer on the eve of the Revolution, Danton became a famous orator of the Cordeliers Club and was raised to gove ...
interrogated Dumouriez, who was accused in March 1793 in Belgium dealing with the Austrians without permission of the Convention. In 1793 Delacroix proposed to the Convention to confiscate the metal statuary at Versailles and melt it down to make cannon. The proposal was rejected after some debate. Delacroix joined the
Thermidorian Reaction In the historiography of the French Revolution, the Thermidorian Reaction ( or ''Convention thermidorienne'', "Thermidorian Convention") is the common term for the period between the ousting of Maximilien Robespierre on 9 Thermidor II, or 27 J ...
. He was appointed French Minister of Foreign Affairs between 3 November 1795 and 15 July 1797 before being replaced by Talleyrand. On 2 December 1797 he became a special envoy (ambassador) to the
Batavian Republic The Batavian Republic (; ) was the Succession of states, successor state to the Dutch Republic, Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 after the Batavian Revolution and ended on 5 June 1806, with the acce ...
. In January 1798 he advised Herman Willem Daendels in his coup d'état against a group of federalists in the Dutch
National Convention The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...
. In 1799, he became the first prefect in the
Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; , ; ; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a Departments of France, department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var (department), Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the sout ...
and in 1803 in the
Gironde Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.
. Delacroix died in Bordeaux on 26 October 1805. When his wife, Victoire Oeben, died in 1814 it was found that his family estate was fully mortgaged, and his attorney had been stealing from it. Rather than being worth 800,000 francs as thought, the estate was in debt by 175,000 francs. A monument to Delacroix stands in the Chartreuse cemetery in Bordeaux.


References

Citations Sources * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links


''Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863): Paintings, Drawings, and Prints from North American Collections''
a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art * https://web.archive.org/web/20080517081523/http://www.documents-anciens.com/fiche-181.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20110716234551/http://www.recherche.fr/encyclopedie/Proc%C3%A8s_de_Georges_Danton_et_des_dantonistes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delacroix, Charles-Francois 1741 births 1805 deaths People from Marne (department) Ambassadors of France to the Netherlands Foreign ministers of France Prefects of Bouches-du-Rhône Prefects of Gironde Deputies to the French National Convention 18th-century Dutch politicians 18th-century French diplomats