La Liberté guidant le peuple

AC1: Still Image Analysis

The text is a painting entitled “La Liberté guidant le peuple”, painted by Eugène Delacroix in 1830. Depicted is a young woman holding up the tri-colour flag, the figure serving as an allegorical myth of the Goddess of Liberty, and a symbol of the French Republic, followed by a crowd of fighters during the Trois Glorieuses, representing the mix of classes united by the uprising, who climb around the bodies of the fallen, iconic of the struggle surrounding 28th July 1830.

To a viewer, this painting is great and intense: the grand scale, the detailed scene, the allegorical quality conveyed through the figures. The brightness of the smoke in the background, indexical of the battle, draws one’s eyes to the majestic, life-like portrayal of Liberty, her fist raised, gripping the flag of the French republic. This pose is symbolic of revolution, demonstrating protest and power through socio-cultural convention – this woman leads the crowd behind her to victory, her weapon held firmly in her other hand, ready for the next bout of battle. She is higher than the other figures; her head appears to be crowned by a faint halo in the smoke behind her, symbolic of a celestial being, her face similar to that of a classical deity, and she walks unfazed through destruction with bare feet, her breasts exposed. Yet, although she could be seen only as an ethereal statuesque figure – her marble-like skin glowing in the light like an ancient goddess – her cheeks are rosy and her underarm hair can be seen, suggesting that she is also a common girl, another real, living person. Her cap supports this connotation, the Phrygian bonnet serving as a symbol of the people, of revolution. Thus the woman depicted is both a heroine and also a myth, an ideal figure representing Liberty, due to her physical attributes.

        Pertaining to the notion of the woman being a symbol of hope, the wounded man at her feet gazes up at her; trying to rise to the same level as the armed men. This is indexical, a sign showing evidence of the sacrifice and courage of the people during the Trois Glorieuses – he looks to the figure of Liberty for encouragement although he is bleeding, connoting the efforts of the Parisians during the uprising.

Looking closely at the appearance of each of the other main figures surrounding Liberty, one can see that the physical details, notably the clothing, are iconic representations – signs showing the imagery – of different social classes. The young boy’s black velvet cap is a symbol of the students of Paris; the top hat indicates its wearer is a member of the bourgeoisie, wearing the clothes of a craftsman; the man on the far left has a royalist badge on his beret, he dons the red bow of the liberals, and his overalls are those of a worker. Their difference in age, social class, political standing and role in the uprising is iconic of the peuple as mentioned in the title – there is iconic representation for many of the groups who were involved in the fighting. The men surrounding Liberty are all armed, ready to fight, following in the footsteps of this allegorical mythical being, soon to be victorious.

The woman is both the central focus of the painting and the title - “La Liberté guidant le peuple” – the viewer is told that she is leading the peuple (the population or crowd), yet she is still an allegory, an icon of hope and morale. Her stride forward shows confidence, and the title carries forward the connotation that she, although a mythical being, an ideal, is followed by the French people. Despite the presence of determination and hope to succeed in the revolution, the cadavers are indexical of the losses caused by the uprising, the price of victory. Two of Charles X’s fallen soldiers lie seemingly in the path of Liberty as she drives the movement, further connoting the idea of the peuple progressing towards success, as they overpower the forces against them. However, the trouser-less figure’s nakedness contrasts with that of Liberty – whilst her nudity could be metaphorical of motherly nourishment – his is pure vulnerability, a sign that there are countless, inevitable defeats. The lighting casts this corpse in light too, thus emphasising the need to remember the sacrifices made by Parisians for their cause.

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