.How to Read Delacroix’s ‘Liberty Leading the People’
Why did a painter who was nostalgic for Napoleon and in favour of a monarchy produce this painting?
Musée du Louvre, Paris, France — Source : Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Liberty Leading the People is a world-famous painting, an icon of the struggle for freedom. Yet it was painted to illustrate contemporary events in the life of an artist who was nostalgic for Napoleon’s Empire and more in favour of a virtuous monarchy than a republic. It even depicts a disorderly, bedraggled crowd, which contradicts the image we have of the painting.
So is there a misinterpretation of this painting?
In March 1830, relations between King Charles X and the Chamber of Deputies became strained. The King wanted to restore the rules of the Ancien Régime. But the elected representatives of the people were opposed, as this would undermine the achievements of the French Revolution. Rather authoritarian, Charles X issued several decrees on 25 July 1830: suspending the freedom of the press to silence political opposition and reforming the franchise to favour the aristocracy. Finally, he dissolved the Chamber of Deputies, which opposed his power, and called elections for September.
This provoked the anger of the French people. From 27 to 29 July 1830, the people of Paris rose up and set up barricades to resist…
