Théodore Chassériau (1819–1856) was a Dominican-born French painter. He trained under Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, initially working in a Neoclassical style. His later oeuvre shifted towards the Romantic style of Eugène Delacroix. Chassériau produced portraits, historical and religious paintings, allegorical murals, and Orientalist images. At 15, his portrait of Prosper Marilhat was exhibited at the Louvre.
Chassériau's artistic practice encompassed diverse subjects, including those inspired by his travels to Algeria, which informed his Orientalist works. He was a prolific draftsman, creating a suite of prints to illustrate Shakespeare's Othello. His stylistic evolution from Ingres's classicism to Delacroix's romanticism is evident in works such as Venus Anadyomène (1839).
Chassériau's work influenced later French painters, including Gustave Moreau and Puvis de Chavannes, contributing to mystical and decorative currents in subsequent art movements.
