LIBERTY
LEADING THE PEOPLE:
By
Delacroix
By
Elizabeth H. Elys
French Revolution of 1789, the
revolutionary movement that shook France between 1787 and 1799 and reacted its
first climax there in 1789.Hence the term "Revolution" of 1789,
denoting the end of ancient regime in France and serving also distinguish
that event from later French Revolutions of 1830 and 1848.
Of all the events of European history,
the French Revolution of 1789 is one of the most important and controversial.
French Revolution
was, when in 1789 the old Ancient regime was overthrown, and France went from a
monarchy governed state to a republic.
France went through a number of
different stages in terms of forms and types of government. The revolutionary
government of 1789 -1793 was the most immediate, until between 1793-1794, when
Robespiere became the most powerful man in France overseeing the era known as
the Terror.
This was followed by the Directory who ruled between the years
1794-1799, and this was the government Napoleon overthrew in Coup of Brumaire
on Nov. 9, 1799.
Most of French wealth and property
belonged to the first and second estates, clergy and the nobles. The best and
highest ranking jobs were reserved for them, and they paid no taxes.
In 1721, Montesquiau the most important
political philosopher of the French Revolution wrote his Persian letters, in
which he criticized these life styles and privileges of nobles and clergy. He
believed in separation of powers as the ideal system, which France did not
have.
The king controlled everything; it was an absolute monarchy,
and a system Montesquieau was opposed to.
During the early stages of French
Revolution, the people took actions that moved them towards a more balanced and
equal government.
The National Assembly wrote Declaration
of the Rights of Man and the Citizen.
The Declaration was a crystallization
of Enlightment ideals. It encapsulated the natural and civil rights espoused by
writers like J. Locke, J.J. Rousseau and Jefferson, and entrenched them in
French law.
It was short document, containing 17
brief articles. These articles provided protection for numerous individual
rights: liberty, property, freedom of speech and the press, freedom of
religion and equal treatment before the law. The Declaration was also universal
in its tone. Its rights and ideas applied to all people, not just the citizens
of France.
Passed into Law, the Declaration became
a cornerstone of the Revolution.
This DECLARATION remains one of history’s foremost
expressions of Human Rights.
Liberty
Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix So many artist in history were influenced by so dramatic
events like French Revolution. One from them was Eugene Delacroix.
His painting expressing political
and historical event.
The picture Liberty leading
People is a blend of document and symbol, actuality and fiction, reality and
allegory, bears witness to the death throes of ancient regime.
This painting celebrated the day,
during the 1830 Revolution, that the people rose and fought for their Liberty.
Delacroix used the painting as a political poster for the revolution. He was a
member of the National Guard, and the placed himself into the picture as the
man on the left wearing a top hat.
This canvas, we can define as the first
political work of modern painting. The heroic poses of the people fighting for
liberty the painting illustrates the struggle of the people for their liberty
and allows the viewer to empathize with the struggle.
In this art work liberty is personified
in the form a vibrant, rebellious women who leads the people to victory. She
carries the flag proudly.
Delacroix painted this canvas with great pride and
patriotism. Though he had not taken an active part in the fighting of the
Revolution. He had done his share for his country. This piece conjures up
feeling of power, of freedom and victory while paying tribute to those who died
fighting for their cause and country.
This realistic and innovative work, a symbol of Liberty and
the pictorial revolution, was rejected by the critics. The work was hidden from
public view during the king s reign, and only entered the Musee du Luxembourg
in 1863 and the Louvre in 1874.
It is now perceived as a
universal work, a representation of romantic and revolutionary fervor, heir to
the historical painting of the 19th century and forerunner of Pablo Picasso’s
GUERNICA, fight for freedom in the 20th century.
Music for The French Revolution,Concerto Koln
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