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, goal-

oriented 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.

Shailyn Warnock

English 1030, F14

Dr. McNeil

9 October 2014

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.