The early 19th century was among the most exciting and dramatic of political and artistic eras in French history. During the French Revolution and its aftermath, as painters and sculptors were employed as weapons of propaganda, Paris became the artistic capital of Europe. In this unique treatment of this extraordinary period, more than 300 in-depth biographies examine the lives and works of those who brought Neo-classicism to its heights and those who rebelled against this academic ideal with the birth of Romanticism, from David and Ingres to Delacroix and Gericault. With further articles on Realist and Barbizon painters whose works anticipated those of the Impressionists, this is a guide to a revolutionary period of artistic activity.