Shailyn Warnock English 1030, F14 Dr. McNeil 9 October 2014
Liberty Leading the People, dated 28 July 1830
This picture contains a scene from a battle during the Second French Revolution in 1830. The painting shows several weak, helpless, men lying dead, afraid to move forward, eager soldiers in the back rallying but faded out by the fog as in a sense they’re all bark but no action. The irony of this painting is the strong and brave woman and the child. Women and children are always portrayed as the weak, helpless and in need of protection, but in this painting by Delacroix he shows the men acting cowardly and scared as the woman bravely grabs the flag and gun, and the child in a cheerful way is ready for action. The title Liberty Leading the People is a perfect description for what Delacroix is portraying in his painting. When we think of Liberty a picture of a strong woman holding a torch standing tall above the world, is appeared in our minds. This painting shows the strong, goaloriented woman standing above all the dead, scared and eager men, with the flag and torch. The carrying of their red, white, and blue flag is a symbol of victory; as this helpless man kneels down to her in looks up at her in a grateful, praising way; as if she is the one they can rely on to achieve victory. As she strongly holds the flag she is looking back at the men reassuring them that they will achieve victory and must keep going, don’t give up, as a mother figure to the men.
In the painting all the men on the ground are dead, but this one man is stripped naked, stripped of his dignity, in a vulnerable position of submission, he lies as if he just gave up and dies. No the women, her dressed has been ripped off and she is exposed but her dignity isn’t stripped from her she’s determined to continue going on. Or this may be way out there, but her breast can be exposing in the sense of motherhood. Children are raised by their mothers and run to their mothers for the answers and help. For child and mother to bond, the children are breast fed, so maybe Delacroix, by showing the breast of the lady is a symbolism for motherhood as the soldiers count on her for victory. Some Details that Repeat Exactly Victory x4 Helpless; weak x5 Cowardly, afraid, scared x3 Strong; brave x4 Dignity x2 Mother, motherhood x4 Strands Victory and brave Helpless and weak Afraid and cowardly Binary Oppositions Strong and weak
Brave and cowardly Scared and dignity Anomalies The Lady To conclude, Delacroix was portraying in this picture the reality of battle and the struggle of the second revolution for the French. This painting is mocking the norm that men are tough and women and children are weak. The battle was going downhill as everyone was giving up until “Liberty” leads the people to victory. The submission by the men towards the lady is portraying that men shall honor and respect women more. The child and the women standing together shows that you cannot judge stereotypically.