1798-1875

From The Art of Shakespeare

Colin's use of color and lighting are indicative of his considerable academic training and experience. Born in Paris in 1798, Alexander-Marie Colin entered the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1814. He was the pupil of the celebrated Girodet-Trioson (1767-1824). After completing his training at the Ecole, Colin made his debut at the Salon in 1819. 

Colin's emotional portrayal of the witches clearly demonstrates his ties to nineteenth century French Romantic painting. French painters associated with the Romantic movement frequently chose subjects from English literature specifically because of their highly dramatic emotional quality. This is certainly ture of Colin who, as a close friend of both Eugene Delacroix (1798-1863), and the English Romantic painter Richard Parkes Bonington (1801-1828), was thoroughly in tune with the romantic spirit. Colin was a highly popular painter who received medals for his work in 1824, 1831, and 1840. He continued to exhibit at the Salon until shortly before his death in 1875.