Eugène Delacroix
Today the French celebrate their National Day, which commemorates the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, the turning point of the French Revolution.
Today's painting doesn't relate to the French Revolution but it is such an obvious symbol of France and French art. Liberty Leading the People commemorates the July Revolution of 1830, which toppled King Charles X of France. A woman personifying the concept and the Goddess of Liberty leads the people forward over a barricade and the bodies of the fallen, holding the flag of the French Revolution—the tricolour flag, which remains France's national flag—in one hand and brandishing a bayoneted musket with the other. The figure of Liberty, known also as Marianne, is viewed as a symbol of France and the French Republic.
The fighters are from a mixture of social classes, ranging from the bourgeoisie represented by the young man in a top hat, a student from the prestigious École Polytechnique wearing the traditional bicorne, to the revolutionary urban worker, as exemplified by the boy holding pistols. What they have in common is the fierceness and determination in their eyes. Aside from the flag held by Liberty, a second, minute tricolore can be discerned in the distance flying from the towers of Notre Dame.
The identity of the man in the top hat has been widely debated. The suggestion that it was a self-portrait by Delacroix has been discounted by modern art historians. In the late 19th century, it was suggested the model was the theatre director Étienne Arago; others have suggested the future curator of the Louvre, Frédéric Villot, but there is no firm consensus on this point.
See you tomorrow!