Liberty Leading the People (1830)
Liberty
Believe it or not, there weren’t topless giant women fighting in the July Revolution. As you may have guessed, she is an allegory, or symbol, of liberty (similar to the Statue of Liberty). She also is painted in profile, like a face on a coin, which emphasizes her power.
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Phrygian Bonnet
An interesting detail is Liberty’s hat. It’s called a Phrygian bonnet, which throughout the centuries has become a symbol of freedom. The symbol started back in ancient Rome, when newly freed slaves were given a Phrygian bonnet to indicate their freedom.
The Rich
This guy is pretty well off, given his outfit and hunting shotgun. Again showing that the revolution is for everyone. And if you’re gonna paint a well dressed guy, might as well make it yourself. His face is a self portrait of Delacroix.
The Poor
Believe it or not, there weren’t topless giant women fighting in the July Revolution. As you may have guessed, she is an allegory, or symbol, of liberty (similar to the Statue of Liberty). She also is painted in profile, like a face on a coin, which emphasizes her power.
Notre Dame
Interestingly, Delacroix includes the profile of Notre Dame, as though the painting wasn’t already French enough. And just under this classic French symbol, he signed the date and his name.
The Young
And when Delacroix says the revolution is for everyone, he means everyone. Two kids are also painted, one wielding a pistol, the other with an infantry hat and saber.
Liberty Leading the People (1830)
Basically the "it" guy when it comes to French Romanticism. Living in France from 1798-1863, he witnessed first hand a whole lot of beef, which is why his art contains a lot of violent subjects. His big thing though was his mastery of color. In fact, some people called him the "master of color". Lame nickname, but still. And through this color, he created his romantic paintings, often seen as a reaction to the rigid ideas of neo-classicism which came a bit earlier. Romantacism is all about the glorification of man, nature, and emotion, which you'll definitely be able to see in the following works.
King Sardanapalus
The Assyrian King Sardanapalus who just ordered all his property be destroyed (including his haram, aka the women who look a bit upset about the whole ordeal), and now sits atop a soon-to-be-lit funeral pyre as his palace is being sieged. Sardanapalus is about to kill himself here, which, contrary to most other European paintings, is not a very heroic move. Classic Romantic scene right here.
A Bit Chaotic
The horse has no base, is at a weird angle, and the floor below it is just as chaotic. All this serves to push a feeling of chaos, and a create a structure of, well, no structure. Paintings of the day, e.g. the neo-classicalists were all about order. Delacroix tossed that out. Sardanapalus is sitting on top of a funeral pyre here, and it almost seems as though all the objects around him are styled like flames themselves.
Lotta Dead People
A whole lot of dead bodies here serve to just add to the overall feeling of chaos, as well as the bright yellows and reds emphasize the canvas and intensity even more. The red also symbolizes both the luxury of the palace but also the wounds of the people in it. Did someone say metaphor for corruption?
Turbans are Good Funeral Pyre Style
The Turban and the elephant decorations are an attempt to make this painting as far from European as possible, or giving it a feeling of the Orient. Again, this is a direct rejection of his European counterparts at the time, who were painting classical European themes in ordered ways.
Don't Go Towards the Light
You can usually tell what an artist is trying to emphasize in a painting by what the light is directly hitting. In this case, it’s hitting a murdered concubine, and an about to be murdered concubine. So there you go.
The Death of Sardanapalus (1827)
The Massacre at Chios (1824)
Welcome to Chios, Population: Angry Turkish People
Typically in paintings like these you have a hero who towers above the smoldering ruins, ready to swoop in to save the day. Welp, not really the case with this one. You’ve got your death and destruction, and then low and behold more death and destruction. The painting represents the Ottoman occupation of Chios, Greece, during the Greek War of Independence in 1822, so it’s pretty contemporary for it’s time. It’s a popular subject in a few of Delacroix’s paintings, due to the brutality of the Ottomans on the island of Chios.
The Left Pyramid
Almost all the people in the pyramid to the left have sustained some sort of injury, and have a look of despondent helplessness. The man in the front especially, who seems as though he’s pretty much accepted his fate. It’s far less dynamic than the pyramid on the right
We Got Some Structure
The people here are being rounded up to pretty much be killed or enslaved. But, we do have an actual structure for this painting: the two distinct pyramidal forms on either side.
The Right Pyramid
The pyramid on the right is a lot higher, and is a little more dynamic with the horse and the upward-reaching woman. But the movement is contrasted by the unfortunate scene of a baby grabbing onto a corpse, and an old woman gazing solemnly away.
Bleak Horizons
The land, sea, light and shade are just strips of color that wash across the canvas. That combined with the abstract cloud structures pretty much destroys all perspective in classic Delacroix fashion. Even in the background you’ve got your brutal massacres, and behind that you’ve got you’re burning villages. Chios in 1822 was not a great place to be.
The Massacre at Chios (1824)
