
The painting Liberty Leading the People (La Liberté Guidant le Peuple) was painted by Eugène Delacroix in 1830. It was painted to commemorate the July Revolution of 1830 which toppled King Charles X of France and in turn marked the shift from one constitutional monarchy, the Bourbon Resistance, to the July Monarchy. In addition to commemorating the July Revolution of 1830, Delacroix’s painting contains many hidden meanings and symbols. By looking Delacroix’s use of composition, light, and color, the viewer can see that Liberty Leading the People depicts France’s need for equality, balance, and liberation. This is important because Liberty Leading the People is meant to remember the lives lost and sacrifices made to achieve a common goal of freedom.

The pyramidal structure and diagonals in Liberty Leading the People provide balance to a chaotic scene and draw the eye of the reader to a slain revolutionist. The bottom of the canvas depicts a mass of unidentifiable and deceased bodies; the base of the pyramid. Liberty, the woman acting as the focal point and  stands atop this mound of bodies with the French flag raised above her head; the top of the pyramid. The pyramidal structure of Liberty and the mass of deceased revolutionists represents balance and structure amidst the turmoil of a revolution. This balance and structure is the unitedness of the French revolutionists across every social class in order to overthrow the current constitutional monarchy defined by hereditary right. The red portion of the French flag raised above Liberty’s head is diagonal from the slain revolutionist in the bottom left. This diagonal draws the viewers eye towards to fallen revolutionist in order to remind the viewer that while in the pursuit of liberation, many lives were lost.

The composition and depiction of Liberty herself in this painting suggests that liberation will bring new life and prosperity to the French people. The most illuminated portions of Liberty are her face and her exposed breasts. Her face is turned and looking straight at the French flag which draws the viewers eye more towards the red, white, and blue flag that invokes thoughts of liberation and independence. Throughout history, artists have drawn women with their breasts exposed in order to illustrate womanhood as the power to give life through breastfeeding. The focus on Liberty’s exposed breasts symbolizes the life and prosperity that liberation would bring to the French people. 

Delacroix uses light sparingly in his painting Liberty Leading the People in order to highlight Liberty and the slain revolutionist in the bottom left third of the painting. Liberty is illuminated by light coming from the clouds and it seems as if there is a halo around her head. By using light surrounding Liberty, she becomes the focus of the painting and the viewer’s eye is drawn immediately to her and to the French flag. This is meant to reveal to the viewer that the focus of this painting is the liberation of France. While a vast majority of the light in this painting surrounds Liberty, some of the light spills over onto a slain revolutionist in the bottom left third of this painting. This spillover effect of light symbolizes that while liberation was desired, liberation is not achieved without the loss of lives and the sacrifice of others. 

Delacroix uses a predominantly red, white, and blue color scheme in Liberty Leading the People in order to prominently display the theme of liberty. Red, white, and blue are the colors of France’s flag, but they are also associated with freedom and liberation because of the American Revolution and the American flag. The revolutionist climbing up towards Liberty on the left side of the painting, as well as the deceased revolutionist in the bottom right third of the painting, are wearing red, white, and blue clothing. The sky behind Liberty is white and blue with hints of red in the clouds. These uses of red, white, and blue illustrate that the revolutionists and God are united with Liberty herself and liberation. Other uses of color choice include the deceased revolutionist in the bottom left third of the painting wearing only a white tunic. White is often a color associated with innocence and purity. This fallen revolutionist is the only person in this painting wearing predominantly white. In addition, the bottom half of this fallen soldier is unclothed. This shows that the young revolutionist was literally stripped of his innocence during the Revolution just as he was stripped of his clothing while fighting for his liberty. The white tunic and naked lower half of this one revolutionist’s body represent the loss of innocence that many young men and boys underwent during the July Revolution of 1830. 

Delacroix also uses color in order to differentiate between economic status to show that French citizens across the economic spectrum joined together to achieve a common goal of freedom. On the left side of the painting there are two men standing side by side. One man is wearing predominantly black and the other man is wearing brown trousers. The stark difference between their clothing already suggests a distinct variance in economic status, however it is the color of their clothing that Delacroix uses to convey this. The color black, especially black clothing, signifies power, elegance, and formality. The color brown, however, is the complete opposite. Brown is considered to be a more frugal and practical color for clothing because it “hides dirt”, which suggests that the man in the painting wearing brown trousers is of the working class. The man wearing black is also wearing a top hat and a bowtie, which are both articles of clothing associated with wealth and prosperity. 

Liberty Leading the People is a painting that commemorates the July Revolution in France in the year 1830. However, Delacroix’s use of composition, light, and color shows France’s desperation for liberation and balance. This is important because Liberty Leading the People, while meant to be viewed as a remembrance to the July Revolution, is also a dedication to the lives lost and sacrifices made during the July Revolution. 
