Liberty Leading the People, 1830, Eugene Delacroix

Liberty Leading the People, 1830, Eugene Delacroix

It was the summer before my ninth grade year when my father, sister, and I visited the Louvre. My dad is an art teacher, so when we went on a trip to Europe to visit my mom who was working in a small English town, he insisted on stopping at as many museums as our legs and connecting trains could carry us to. We visited 5 museums during our time in Europe, sometimes visiting more than one museum in a day due to the time crunch that we faced. Contrary to popular belief, soaking up all the culture France and England have to offer is no easy feat in 3 weeks… but boy did we try our hardest.

It was also the year that I had torn my ACL, MCL, and meniscus. I was unknowingly walking across Europe with three torn and pulled ligaments, but I would never dare to complain because those 3 weeks were the greatest of my life. It was a formative experience for me because during that time not being able to play soccer made me feel weak, as though a piece of my personality had been stripped from me. Europe made me see that there is so much more life has to offer. Even though sometimes I was too tired to walk, I think I knew that I would never get a chance to experience art to that extent again in my life. Though, sadly, I’ll never get a chance like that again, knowing that it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity made me value my experiences in those museums.

In a red painted room with high vaulted ceilings, there was one painting in particular that resonated me and made me stand still and reflect. I think that this piece perfectly captures my experience in Europe, though my steaks were obviously less high than those in the painting.

The piece is called Liberty Leading the People and it was painted by Eugene Delacroix in 1830 during the height of the French Revolution. This work was a piece of Pro-Revolution propaganda, and I must say if I were a French proletariat, I would definitely have been moved by the message of this piece and influenced into joining the revolution.

Liberty Leading the People Depicts the personification of Liberty holding up the French flag and encouraging the members of the revolt to march on. The Flag and liberty are both a light region of the painting that serves as a contrast to the dark borders, pulling your eyes in. The proletariat French are not dressed as an organized unit, and they are fighting upon the fallen, but the work communicates the beautiful sense of duty and urgency that was felt by the French at the time. feel a connection to this piece because the central subject shares my sentiment in her expression and body language.

Seeing this painting in person made me take the role of “underdog” with honor. Liberty and I were both optimistic for the future and willing to push ourselves to overcome our obstacles and I think that anybody can pull away a similar message from this piece.

This painting makes me think of triumph for the weak and the glory of giving something your all.