The sheer chaos of Delacroix's "Death of Sardanapalus" immediately grabs you, a monumental scene unfolding on its 12 by 16 foot canvas. Rich, vivid, and warm colors explode across the canvas with broad brushstrokes, depicting the Assyrian king Sardanapalus ordering the destruction of his most prized possessions – his concubines, servants, and animals – before his own suicide in the face of military defeat. This dramatic vision, an oil on canvas, is inspired by Lord Byron's play about the mythical king, and also draws from Greek historian Diodorus Siculus. The exotic decor and tragic imagery are hallmarks of Romanticism and Orientalism, movements Delacroix explored so completely. He clearly admired Byron, whose work fueled this powerful vision. What ’s interesting is not just the scale of this piece, now in the Musée du Louvre, but that Delacroix himself created a smaller replica in 1844, housed in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It makes you wonder about the enduring pull of such a destructive, defiant act, even for the artist himself.