Liberty Leading The People by Delacroix
To celebrate Bastille Day, this week's Art of the Week is Delacroix's Liberty Leading The People.
Now more famous as Coldplay's album cover, this work celebrates the French Revolution of 1830.
Liberty's air-punching posture directly inspired New York's Statue of Liberty, built just over 50 years after the painting was finished. Hats play an important symbolic role in this painting: Liberty wears a 'Phrygian' hat, which symbolised Liberty in the first revolution (1789-94).
The man to the left wears a top hat representing the bourgeoisie, and the boy's hat is typical of those worn by rural workers, suggesting all-round support for the cause.
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