“This lithograph plunges you into a moment of intense public shame, depicting Jane Shore, mistress of Edward IV, in utter despair amidst a condemning crowd. The stark contrasts of light and shadow amplify her isolation and the scene's emotional weight.”
In this dramatic lithograph, a woman, Jane Shore, kneels in a posture of despair, her head bowed and her hands clasped in front of her. She is surrounded by a hostile crowd, their faces contorted in judgment, their bodies pressing in. The scene is set in a shadowy, oppressive space, emphasized by the stark contrasts of light and dark inherent to the lithographic process. A single figure, perhaps a guard or an official, stands over her, adding to the sense of her isolation and vulnerability. The artist captures a moment of intense emotional distress, focusing on the psychological impact of public humiliation. This work exemplifies the Romantic movement's fascination with historical narratives and heightened human emotion.
- Artist
- Eugène Delacroix
- Date
- 1828
- Medium
- Lithograph in black on light-gray China paper laid down on white wove paper
- Location
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Dimensions
- Image: 26 × 34.5 cm (10 1/4 × 13 5/8 in.); Chine: 29.2 × 37.7 cm (11 1/2 × 14 7/8 in.); Sheet: 49 × 63.5 cm (19 5/16 × 25 in.)
What to Notice
Four details hide in plain sight. Here’s where to look.

The way Jane Shore's bowed head and clasped hands convey her profound despair.
The varied expressions of judgment and accusation on the faces in the crowd.
The deep shadows and bright highlights that intensify the scene's drama.
The figure standing over Jane Shore, emphasizing her isolation.
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Eugène Delacroix
1798–1863 · FranceFrench Romantic master whose 'Lion Hunt' and exotic scenes revolutionized color and movement in 19th-century art.
Further Works by Delacroix
The Combat of the Giaour and Hassan
1826 · Art Institute of Chicago
Arab Horseman Attacked by a Lion
1849 · Art Institute of Chicago
Male Academy Figure: Half-Length, Side View
1819 · Karen B. Cohen Collection
Hamlet and Horatio in the Graveyard
1839 · Department of Paintings of the Louvre
Lion Hunt
1858 · Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Sheet of Sketches
1826 · Art Institute of Chicago
Mephistopheles Appearing to Faust
1828 · Art Institute of Chicago
Wild Horse, or Frightened Horse Leaving the Water
1828 · Art Institute of Chicago
More from Romanticism
More works to explore
Beyond Delacroix and Romanticism: works from the same years, and from the other movements Jane Shore belongs to.
Same movement · Academic art
Amédée-David, the Comte de Pastoret
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres · 1823 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1810s–1840s
The Estuary Farm
Léon-Victor Dupré · 1831 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same movement · Academic art
Head of a Child
Jacques-Louis David · 1768 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1810s–1840s
Chichester Canal
J. M. W. Turner · 1829 · National Trust
Same movement · Academic art
The Entombment of Christ
Caravaggio · 1600 · Pinacoteca Vaticana
Same era · 1810s–1840s
The Fortune Teller (La Bonne Aventure)
Jacques-Louis David · 1824 · Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
Same movement · Academic art
Drunkenness of Noah
Michelangelo · 1509 · Sistine Chapel
Same era · 1810s–1840s
Saturn Devouring His Son
Francisco Goya · 1820 · Museo del Prado
Same movement · Academic art
Mona Lisa
Leonardo da Vinci · 1503 · Department of Paintings of the Louvre
Same era · 1810s–1840s
Two Men Contemplating the Moon
Caspar David Friedrich · 1819 · Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
Same movement · Academic art
Lucretia
Raphael · Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1810s–1840s
The Virgin Adoring the Host
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres · 1841 · Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts
Same era · 1810s–1840s
The Captive Slave (Ira Aldridge)
John Philip Simpson · 1827 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1810s–1840s
Mr. James Mackie
Samuel Alcock & Company · 1830 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1810s–1840s
The Five Points
Artist Unknown - The Mercat Cross, Aberdeen · 1822 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Same era · 1810s–1840s
Conflagration of the Masonic Hall, Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Samuel Jones · 1819 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1810s–1840s
Woman in a Blue Dress
School of William Matthew Prior · 1840 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1810s–1840s
Licenza, near Rome: Horace's Villa
William Havell · 1828 · The Metropolitan Museum of Art




