'Liberty Leading the People', a revolutionary masterpiece
Time travel in the Louvre, pondering how Delacroix's Liberty is a milestone in world History.
Why is Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People such an important masterpiece?
As part of the "Museum Goers Are Time Travelers" series, we witnessed the tragedy of The Raft of the Medusa. Here we land in Paris in 1830 to marvel at Delacroix's Liberty leading the people. Tighten your seatbelt, dear reader, this is going to be quite the ride.
Liberty Leading the People, like a newspaper report, but on the scale of History
The first reason why this painting is a revolutionary masterpiece is that it almost resembles a press depiction of a street fight, but not at the size of a newspaper, but on the scale of History.
We are in 1830, and photography does not exist yet. Like Géricault did barely ten years earlier with the Raft of the Medusa, it is hard to understand how groundbreaking both paintings were.
Up to this point, the primary function of large canvases was to praise the military victories of a King or Emperor, or to illustrate scripture for churches.
Both Géricault and Delacroix turned the tables upside down by using the scale and language of royal propaganda against a King. Since no one paid them, they were free to paint what was in their heart.
Yet, had they done that on a small canvas, there would have been no impact. By painting immense canvases, they wrote History.
Maybe not the Revolution you think
The painting has been featured in numerous books and articles about the French Revolution. But which one? The 1789 Revolution, the 1830 Revolution, or the 1848 Revolution? In the 100 years from 1789, France saw:
- two Emperors,
- three Kings,
- three Republics,
- three Revolutions.
Yes, it is somewhat complicated... Our time machine is set to Paris in 1830. Delacroix witnessed the street fights during the July Revolution. A few months later, he wrote:
I have undertaken a modern subject, a barricade, and although I may not have won for my country, I will at least be painting for it.
It is said that the pen is mightier than the sword. Delacroix's weapon was his brush.
The Second French Revolution of 1830: An Explanation
In brief, after Napoléon, Louis XVI's younger brothers became Kings, as Louis XVIII and Charles X.
Charles X imposed an intolerant monarchy, bypassing parliament and bringing laws against press freedom. After three days of revolution in July 1830, King Charles X was replaced by Louis-Philippe, a more moderate king.
That is why La Liberté guidant le peuple is not, as it seems, about the dawn of democracy in France. As we will see, that certainly does not diminish its groundbreaking nature.
Eugène Delacroix, a reluctant revolutionary
There is a myth that the man holding a rifle above is Delacroix. The reality is that his family had ties with both the monarchy and the Empire, and that Delacroix was nostalgic for the Napoleonic Empire.
In a letter, he described the street fights he saw:
There was fighting everywhere, for three days we were surrounded by gun fire and rifle shots.
A simple stroller like me ran the same risk of being hit by a bullet as the impromptu heroes who marched toward the enemy with pieces of iron fixed to broom handles.
The artist wished that the republican side would settle down. Alexandre Dumas—the author of The Three Musketeers—said about Delacroix that "we have spent our lives being of the same opinion in art, but sworn enemies in politics."
He met Delacroix in the street during the fights and recounts that the painter was very afraid.
But when Delacroix saw the tricolor flag flying, the standard of the Empire, my goodness, he could hold back no longer.
Enthusiasm took the place of fear, and he glorified the people who had initially frightened him.
And enthusiastic he was, as it only took him three months to paint Liberty leading the people.
Painting a revolutionary idea
That is when Delacroix turned his brush into a weapon. But, how do you paint or carve an idea? You cannot, so instead, you use Greek or Roman gods as embodiments of ideas.
Consider the depiction of the 1830 Revolution above. Like with Delacroix, it shows civilians taking their destiny into their own hands. The painting may be small, but it still conveys a sense of death and drama.
What's missing is the idea. How did Delacroix turn a street fight into History? He added a Parisian lady, transforming her into Libertas by giving her the hat worn by freed slaves, a Greek profile, and a bare chest, so she looks like an ancient goddess.
But a Roman goddess holding a bayonet rifle. The soldiers’ corpses at her feet leave no doubt that Liberty roams the streets of 1830 Paris, and she is resolute.
She is Liberty, as well as Victory, and Marianne, the emblem of France. That is how, by using the language of royal propaganda against King Charles X, the picture's meaning was utterly transformed.
For millennia, large images were always about them: Kings, Emperors, gods, and prophets. From Géricault's Raft of the Medusa and Delacroix's Liberty, it was about us. We the People, freeing ourselves by force.
This masterpiece is not just iconic; it is a milestone in world History.
Liberty Leading the People influenced Victor Hugo
In the beginning, was the Word. First, someone writes a story, and only then do painters or sculptors illustrate it. Museums are filled with stories that writers created. If the boy by Liberty's side makes you think of Gavroche in Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, it is for good reason.
A small bit of context: you may know Hugo from Les Misérables or the huntchback of Notre Dame. To give you an idea of who he was, two million people attended his funeral. Victor Hugo was a towering figure, a man-monument.
If a painting was powerful enough to influence a great writer, it can only be a masterpiece for the ages.
A link to Lafayette and the American Revolution
A song written soon after the 1830 Revolution became the national hymn. Imagine, dear reader, the crowd singing:
O French people, people of heroes,
Liberty reopens its arms;
We were told, "be slaves!"
We said, "be soldiers!"
Suddenly Paris in its memory
Has found its cry of glory.
And then a man who took part in the American Revolution and the 1789 Revolution appears:
Who leads our bloody flags?
'Tis the freedom of two Worlds,
'Tis Lafayette in white hair.
O day of eternal memory!
Do you see now the thread between the American Revolution and the 1789 and 1830 Revolutions?
The figure of Liberty, as painted by Delacroix, exists still today, as Marianne in every official building in France, and in New York's harbor, as Lady Liberty.
Liberty Leading the People, so revolutionary that it was hidden for 40 years
While King Louis-Philippe purchased the painting at the official Salon exhibition in 1831, it remained largely hidden for forty years.
It was only in 1874 that Liberty, leading the people, entered the Louvre museum; once, at long last, France was truly a Republic.
Liberty Leading the People, censored by Facebook
In 2018, it took Facebook 15 minutes to censor one of the world's most famous paintings. The author of a play utilized Delacroix's masterpiece for promotional purposes and attempted to secure its acceptance through Facebook's advertising service. Here is what happened:
A quarter of an hour after the advert was launched, it was blocked, with the company telling us we cannot show nudity.
As he dealt with real people, he pleaded his case.
I then exchanged with the moderators, who were adamant that even in a 19th-century painting, it wasn't acceptable.
Facebook's ads service stated that:
We do not allow ads with nudity, even if it's not sexual. This includes nudity for artistic or educational purposes. Ads of this type are sensitive in nature and are therefore not permitted.
The painting was on French banknotes and is in every schoolbook in France. It is good enough for the Louvre and history books, but not for social media?
Facebook apologized, but the company has censored many more masterpieces. A tourist board attempting to promote Rubens' paintings has been censored due to 'nudity'. The question should be, why does anyone consider the image of Christ on the cross sexual?
Géricault’s Liberty Leading the People, still leading the way, 200 years later
Delacroix and Géricault strived to break free from official propaganda. Two centuries later, demonstrably false stories are promoted and garner many likes on social media.
Historical facts and artistic masterpieces are either lost in a sea of misinformation and conspiracy theories or are censored.
Liberty Leading the People shows us the way: may the struggle for creative freedom continue. There's the Moment of Wonder.
Sources
Eugène Delacroix : La liberté guidant le peuple; Arlette Sérullaz et Vincent Pomarède; Somogy Louvre éditions.
Causerie sur Eugène Delacroix et ses oeuvres, faite par M. Alexandre Dumas, le 10 Décembre 1864, La Presse, 7 Janvier 1865, translated into English by the author.
La Parisienne, by Casimir Delavigne.
Eugène Delacroix and Charles de Verninac: An Unpublished Portrait and New Letters; Lee Johnson.
The Burlington Magazine, Sep., 1968, Vol. 110, No. 786 (Sep., 1968), pp. 511-518. Translated into English by the author.
Eugène Delacroix, Le 28 juillet 1830; La Liberté guidant le peuple.
Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix.
Facebook sorry for blocking Delacroix masterpiece over nudity.
Facebook angers Flanders with Rubens ban.
Facebook bans Flemish paintings because of nudity.
Facebook s'excuse après avoir censuré les seins nus de "La Liberté guidant le peuple".
Private evening tour of the Louvre museum masterpieces.
