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29 november 2004
Delacroix's Liberty
Liberty Leading the People (28 July 1830), 1830 by Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863).
Oil on canvas. 260 x 325 cm. Louvre, Paris, France.
"Although I didn't fight, I'll at least paint for our country!"
With this painting Delacroix responded to the July revolution of 1830 against Charles X (king of France 1824-30) and absolutism in France, which finished with serious democratic reforms. As a result the new 'citizen king' Louis-Phillippe was elected and his power was restricted; France became a bourgeois monarchy. Delacroix wrote to his brother, a general: ‘Since I have not fought and conquered for the fatherland, I can at least paint on its behalf.’ To the left of Liberty, a man wearing a top hat, is Delacroix himself. The boy with pistols on the right was perhaps the inspiration for the character of Gavroche in Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. The new king Louis-Phillippe bought the work for 3,000 francs, but never exhibited it.
Posted by willy at 29 november 2004 09:22 to 09 - Revolutionary | Politics | Comments (1)
Comments
I was wondering if anyone knows his inspiration for liberty. It art class we discussed the possibility that she may have been inspired from the Greek goddess Athena. I would very much like to know.
comment by: Gloria Byerley to entry Delacroix's Liberty in Category: 09 - Revolutionary | Politics