1Alex HallART-111

A Goddess Among the Ruins.

Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix (26 April 1798 – 13 August

1863) was a French artist and honored leader of the French

Romantic school. His most influential work known today is

Liberty Leading the People. The work of art is and oil painting

on canvas, its dimensions are 102.4 in tall and 128.0 in wide.

The painting was created in 1830 at the height of the French

revolution to overthrow the oppressive monarchy of King Charles

X. After this revolution another king came to power by the name

of Louis Philippe I. This wasn’t a highly noted victory in French

history, because the same tyranny fell upon the people just as

King Charles X widely enforced.

The figures in the painting are mostly people varying from

dead, alive, political faction, nobleman to artisan. The man in

the top hat in the left of the middle ground is dressed in finer

clothes that the man to his right. This displays a gap in class

hierarchy, but they are on the same side of the battle. A young

boy wielding a pistol in each hand represents there is no age

discrimination when it comes to fighting for what you believe in.

They are all around one central figure, a woman in a torn yellow

dress holding the French flag in one hand and a bayoneted rifle

in the other. She is the goddess of victory know as Libertas,

Nike, and Lady Liberty. In Liberty Leading the People she isn’t

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in glimmering armor of the Greeks and Romans or wearing a crown

like the Statue of Liberty, her wardrobe fits the portrayal of

war and women in this time period which wasn’t of the highest

standards.

The first thing noticed when I first look at the painting is

the woman’s arm. It is nearly centered in the “pyramid” made by

the flag, the bottom of the tower of Notre Dame, and rifleman’s

posture. The colors that I see are of a restricted palette

ranging from pales and dirty dark colors. The goddess of victory

wears yellow is seemingly blends in but stands out at the same

time drawing the eye towards it. The flag of France is red,

White, and blue. These colors represent freedom, equality, and

brotherhood. There are several lines in the middle ground: the

rifleman’s rifle pointing to the flag, the rifle in the woman’s

left hand, and the bots pistol in his right hand all point

upwards to draw your line of sight to the flag. The time set in

the artwork is a cloudy midafternoon the clouds darken the sun in

the background but in the center behind the goddess of victory

the sun illuminates her like a blessing from the heavens. There

is a confliction of moods like mourning, relief, and the joy of

victory. The men mourn the loss of their brothers that have

perished on the ground they stand. They are relieved that the

battle is over, and that “Lady Liberty” has prevailed.

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Eugène Delacroix used his colors so that the outer portions

of the artwork are darker and the center is lighter around the

woman and flag. He does this to draw attention to center and to

create contrast with the rest of the piece. The lines in Liberty

Leading the People are very important. As mentioned earlier the

rifle, pistol and even the saber in the background create lines

that move the eye in a subconscious way to the most important

part, the goddess of victory. Even the goddess has lines that

lead to the French flag the symbol of revolution.