Liberty leading the people

Question 1

Date and artist

Answer 1

1830

Eugène Delacroix

Question 2

Style + how the style is reflected

Answer 2

French Romanticism:
Artist wanted to capture the spirit of the time - not only an emphasis on capturing the historical event but also about exploring the spectrum of human emotion (= Romanticism)

Question 3

Central figure significance + reminds us of ?

Answer 3

Marianne - personifies freedom, an allegory,
she is the focal point - top of the pyramidal composition + triumphantly holds up the flag as she burst forward

No nipples = reminiscent of a statue - Athena Nike of Samothrace - victory - wind picking up her drapery reminds us of classical statuary

Question 4

depiction of dead bodies does what

Answer 4

Propaganda - seeks to make people enraged at the suffering caused + reminds us revolution comes at a cost

Question 5

depiction of dead bodies does what

Answer 5

Propaganda - seeks to make people enraged at the suffering caused + reminds us revolution comes at a cost
Figures along the barricades range in class/ status = the revolution is for all and unites all

Question 6

dead man in night gown significance

Answer 6

Noticeable figure in the bottom is dead - in a night gown and covered in blood. This reminds the viewer of the despised practice during the revolution where suspected revolutionary sympathisers would be taken from their beds and night, killed and then dragged out into the streets for all to see

Question 7

tri-color flag

Answer 7

Symbol of the revolution + held up by liberty herself

Depicted using pure pigment - bold colour stands out and our eye is drawn to it (also top of triangular composition)

Question 8

Pictorial space

Answer 8

Little sense of depth due to the hazy horizon line - pushed figures forward, they seem to be bursting towards us