July 28. Liberty Leading the People (July 28, 1830)

Delacroix was inspired by the Three Glorious Revolution, which took place that same year, for this artwork. Presented to the public at the Paris Salon of 1831 under the title Scenes of Barricades, the work has frequently been chosen as a symbol of the French Republic and democracy because of its allegorical aspect and its political significance.

A contemporary subject: the Three Glorious days  "I have undertaken a modern subject, a barricade, and if I have not won for the fatherland, at least I will paint for it. "Delacroix wrote to his brother on October 18, 1830. The painter is representing an event from a burning actuality: three days of riots in Paris that lead to the establishment of the July Monarchy. Indeed, the overthrow of Charles X put an end to the Restoration. The establishment of the reign of Louis-Philippe opened the way to a more liberal constitutional monarchy.

As a young romantic painter, Eugène Delacroix seized the subject in real time. How was the work received by the public at the time? And in more recent times? To find out, listen to the audio-guide!

Notre-Dame de Paris Have you spotted the towers of the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris? They emerge from the smoke in the background, on the right...

On the other hand, you can't see the spire that has been so much talked about since its destruction in the fire of April 15, 2019: when Delacroix painted this work, in 1831, the spire, which had fallen in 1606, had not yet been rebuilt by Viollet-le-duc.

A representation of the people A crowd of rioters crosses a barricade. In the foreground, next to the cobblestones and beams, lie the bodies of dead soldiers.

Five figures stand out. We find the representatives of the people: a worker, a bourgeois in high form, a peasant in a blue shirt and a street child, who would have inspired Victor Hugo for the character of Gavroche in Les Miserables.

A national cohesion through the allegory of Liberty At the top of the barricades, a woman rises up. Depicted in action, she is wearing a Phrygian cap, her hair blowing in the wind. Delacroix represents a woman of the people, fiery and rebellious. Victorious, she is an allegory of Liberty, she represents the people. She brandishes the tricolor flag, a national symbol. To learn more about this woman who has been the subject of much controversy, listen to the audio guide!

Collection: Department of Paintings of the Louvre