Presented in 1830, Eugene Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People is an oil painting on canvas. Its measurements are 260 by 325 cm or 8. 5 by 10. 67 ft. This grand size adds significance to the subject matter. Liberty Leading the People is currently being displayed in the Musee du Louvre. Although there is not an official patron, the work was created to acknowledge the demolition of the rule by Louis-Philippe. In essence, it is an admission to celebrate the July Revolution of 1830.
With the depiction of an important event and the towering size, Liberty Leading the People is a history painting belonging to the Romantic period that managed to band together realism with a physical allegory. In the renowned style of Romanticism, Delacroix painted Liberty Leading the People to capture a historical event during his time that evoked moments of intense passion. The work, itself, unites with history as it depicts the story of Trois Glorieuses, commonly known as The Three Glorious Days (Dorbani-Bouabdellah).
As stated before the work is an oil painting so the use of oil on canvas creates a richness and depth to the colors utilized and entertains the impression that the colors will remain permanent on the canvas and carry an everlasting effect on future audiences. Delacroix effectively does this while emphasizing the strength of France and its people. The patriotic colors: blue, red, and white are seen repeatedly to invoke the message of the power displayed during the July Revolution and mark the action of battle. Bright, bold colors elicit the sensations of power and victory.
The contrasting colors also contribute to the rhythm of Delacroix’s brushstrokes. There is a vibrant employment of small, independent strokes against the long and continuous ones. Linear perspective is used to create the illusion of a 3D space thus extending the scene to the viewer. The ruins of the city is diminished by Delacroix’s skillful application of aerial perspective. The focal point of the work is a woman who is personified to depict Liberty. Liberty is an allegory that exhibits the bravery and leadership of the French.
She represents the fiery spirit amongst the people and is the embodiment of freedom. Although she is an allegory, Liberty is realistically ideal as her exposed breasts and feet are parallel to noble dignity and hints at Delacroix’s admiration of the Classical. Her features are heightened, Liberty is a half goddess-half warrior. She has a muscular physique that feeds into the determination to win the war of freedom. The exposed breasts are symbols of a society that relinquishes the tyrannical rule and points towards a new free and equal society.
She becomes the peak of a pyramid that Delacroix uses to counteract the surrounding frantic actions. Creating the base of the pyramid is the mounds of lifeless bodies that contributes to the realism but acknowledges the sacrifices that led to the victory. Leading the men towards the nameless forces, she carries the symbol of the Revolution, the tricolor flag, and a musket. The flag names the new regime that would unify France. Demonstrated in the men’s clothing and Liberty’s: the blue, white, and red create solidarity represented by the Revolution.
With the use of light, Liberty is illuminated and she renders the pinnacle objective of this work: French pride. A halo is created from smoke, due to the burning of Notre Dame church, further highlights Liberty’s power. Amidst all the violence and death, Liberty continues forward guided by the radiance (due to the light) and the support of the remaining fighters. The men encircled around Liberty portray the unification of the social classes fighting together: a common worker (far left), an intellectual (middle), and a street boy (far right).
The sense of participation is evident as no one class is too sophisticated in order to fight for freedom. With all genders and social statuses present, there is a strengthened message of democracy. In order to understand Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People, the reasons for how it is typical of the Romantic period has to be explained. Though there are many works belonging to Romanticism, Liberty Leading the People utilizes the all the values that bears the period.
Romanticism merges heroism and violence in order to convey the grandeur and intensity needed to promote the intended statement. Delacroix was the leader of the Romantic School in French work and so Liberty Leading the People incorporates all its aspects (Laclotte, 1965). Liberty Leading the People is typical of the Romantic period because it evokes strong emotion, the boldness of colors are excited as they play a part in depicting the violent movement due to the heroic struggle between the French people against their oppressive government.
The overall tone is subjective as this historical event was personal to Delacroix, his use of light and tenebrism is contrasted along with the effectiveness of the quick seamless brushstrokes and dynamic chiaroscuro. The chiaroscuro adds movement to the work as there is a need for Liberty and the men to move towards the light of a new era for France and leaving the gloomy dark periods of tyranny and struggle the people of France had to endure. Combined with the emotional quality, chiaroscuro establishes the work as an uprising, as a revolution.
Due to the historical context, Liberty Leading the People behaves as a propaganda piece that ultimately celebrated the conquest of the French while glorifying their victory. Ultimately, this work brings together the ideals of liberty that brought forth the Revolution. It has been established that all social classes were involved in the revolt but examining the work with a historical scope more is revealed. The three men and Liberty wore caps that shared information about themselves.
The common worker wore a typical hat, the intellectual sported a top hat while the street boy is wearing a black beret. Liberty’s accessory, the Phrygian cap, was an emblem of independence during the French Revolution. Though being an artist of the Romantic period, Delacroix admired the works of the classical tradition. He learned the use of color by studying the works of Michelangelo and Rubens (Laclotte, 1965). Rubens was a significant inspiration as Delacroix drew motivation from Rubens’ flush palette.
He became cultured in the treatment of colors as a way of authenticating the work’s emotion and underlying messages. Taking into account the humanistic view Rubens had, Delacroix aspired to mimic the dramatic feat as human nature won over the forces of anarchy and injustice. Along with the inspiration of other artists, Delacroix’s relationship to Liberty Leading the People as well as his other works are tied into his psychology and what he experienced. As Delacroix witnessed events related to the Revolution, he painted Liberty Leading the People to become a political message of French pride.
Delacroix’s works have constant theme of violence, chaotic figures, bold colors, and liberated dynamism. Liberty Leading the People was no different, it was made to invoke reactions. While writing to his brother (a general), Delacroix confessed, “Since I have not fought and conquered for the fatherland I can at least paint on its behalf… I have undertaken a modern subject, a barricade, and if I have not fought for my country, at least I will paint for [Liberty]. ” Although Delacroix had no interest in politics, his attitude changed as the political crisis in France continued.
