Eugene Delacroix-“Liberty Leading the People”

Eugene Delacroix painted “Liberty Leading the People” in 1863 to celebrate the French Revolution as well as to act as a propaganda poster for the revolution. The French nobility oppressed the peasants giving them no say in the government and did not care about their daily needs. At this time France was on the verge of bankruptcy after assisting America in its war for freedom which was one of the Causes of the French Revolution. It is oil on canvas painting. He used vivid colours in painting which brightened areas and darkened the shades. This provides a contrast that emphasizes the main subject, a lady leading the people. Delacroix represented Liberty as a goddess holding the flag of the revolution. The lady is raised by a pedestal of dead and wounded people on the ground, this gives her power and leadership in the painting. In the background figures represent all of the classes from rich to poor. This painting was made in response to the political change that would be resulted in the overthrow of the reigning monarch. This is a complex painting, full of historical reference also full of the of human emotion, from heroism to angry despair. Sharp primary colours blues, yellows and powerful reds are used in the painting. In the foreground lay two dead bodies. The figure on the left is intended to enrage the viewer. The painting is pure propaganda. Delacroix is alluding to the despised practice of the royal troops who spread terror by murdering innocent people in their beds and then dragging the bodies into the streets as a warning. The dead uniformed figure on the right is a royalist soldier. Delacroix shows the enemy as vulnerable. At the buildings at the right there is a battle joined in the distance, the great Gothic cathedral Notre Dame de Paris, a symbol of the King's power.