Comparison Of Liberty Leading The People And The Third Of May

Comparison Of Liberty Leading The People And The Third Of May

zygmont, b. 2019. “Delacroix, Liberty Leading The People”. Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/later-europe-and-americas/enlightenment-revolution/a/delacroix-liberty-leading.

In the painting, Eugene Delacroix depicts a female figure with a yellow dress that is falling from her shoulder, revealing her breast. On her left hand, she is holding a bayoneted, and her right hand is raising the French national flag. The woman is making big strides and looking over her shoulder to ensure that those whom she is leading are following. A man is looking at her while holding guns in both hands with the right hand raised. Several lifeless bodies are lying on the ground in which she tramples on, depicting war and the heavy loss of life that results from it and at the same time the victors who emerge from the war. The paintings depict a successful revolution in which the unhappy citizens have triumphed over the existing authorities that are in place.

Zapellla, c. 2019. “Goya, Third Of May, 1808”. Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/romanticism/romanticism-in-spain/a/goya-third-of-may-1808.

In the third of May, Francisco Goya has depicted soldiers aiming bayoneted at helpless civilians who have raised their hand up in the act of submission with lifeless bodies on the ground in a pool of blood. In this painting, Francisco has illustrated the force by which a ruling regime meets those who try to oppose them, with some ending up dead in pools of blood in which nobody cares about. Revolution is costly in terms of life loss, and the society has to bear this.

Introduction

Revolution has been in existence since ancient times. Governments have faced criticism from their citizens which at some point result in an attempt to overthrow these governments. Some attempts have been successful while some have been met with brutal force from the existing governments, which has resulted in several lives being lost. Over the ages, artists tried to portray the different elements of revolution in different artistic works trying to depict the victories achieved by citizens in some instances and the kind of force that these revolutionists have to deal with. In Liberty Leading the People, the artist depicts a woman seemingly aligned from to the side that has emerged with victory and is lifting a flag of blue, red and white[1]. On the other hand, the third of May depicts soldiers aiming bayoneted at helpless civilians who have raised their hand up in the act of submission with lifeless bodies on the ground in a pool of blood[2]. Revolutions have been in existence over the years from the ancient world to the middle ages and in the contemporary world in which unhappy citizens have attempted to overthrow existing governments.  Both liberty leading the people and the third of May illustrates the elements of revolution as witnessed in both the contemporary world and the world ancient world through to the middles ages.

Eugene Delacroix, one of the most famous artists of all times and his liberty leading the people, is one of his numerous artistic works. He did this work in 1830 and in the painting, he depicts a female figure with a yellow dress that is falling from her shoulder, revealing her breast. On her left hand, she is holding a bayoneted, and her right hand is raising the French national flag. The woman is making big strides and looking over her shoulder to ensure that those whom she is leading are following. A man is looking at her while holding guns in both hands with the right hand raised[3]. Several lifeless bodies are lying on the ground in which she tramples on, depicting war and the heavy loss of life that results from it and at the same time the victors who emerge from the war.

In the third of May, Francisco Goya has depicted soldiers aiming bayoneted at helpless civilians who have raised their hand up in the act of submission with lifeless bodies on the ground in a pool of blood. In this painting, Francisco has illustrated the force by which a ruling regime meets those who try to oppose them, with some ending up dead in pools of blood in which nobody cares about[4].

Similarities

In liberty leading the people, Eugene Delacroix has illustrated the element of death involved in a revolution. In this painting in from of the symbolic female figure beneath the barricade that she is stepping on lies several lifeless bodies. These are bodies of individuals who were involved in the revolution and have died from the war that ensured between the authority in power and the unhappy citizens. But since these bodies lie on the other side of the barricade, they must belong to the defeated soldiers[5].

On the other side, Francisco Goya has depicted death in the third of May painting in which a lifeless body lies on the ground in a pool of blood. The other individuals depicted in the painting are also reacting differently in the sight of death[6]. The soldiers are pointing bayoneted to the individuals in which some are kneeling down and are pleading while some are hiding their face probably from the dead body lying in a pool of blood or from the weapons pointed towards them.

Difference

In liberty leading the people, Eugene Delacroix has achieved his main theme of a successful revolution in which the symbolic female figure half-naked appears to be leading a vast majority of individuals from different sectors of life to their freedom. The diversity embedded in the paintings can be seen by the different types of people within the painting. First, the man far left holding a briquette is wearing an apron, walking shirt and a sailor’s trouser which identifies him as a factory worker occupying the lower ends of economic ladder[7]. The young man beside this factory worker occupies a different economic status judging from his attire in which he is wearing an elegantly tailored coat, a black hart and open-collared white shirt. These two illustrates that the revolution is for everyone within the society regardless of an individual’s economic status.

On the other hand, Francesco Goya has achieved the theme of revolution in the third of May paintings. The revolution is not successful because the citizens involved have been met with force in which they are forced to surrender to the soldiers as depicted by the man kneeling down while carrying his hand in a manner that suggests he is surrendering. These individuals seem to be Christians depicted with the individual kneeling and raising his hand. On his right hand, he has a scar similar to the one Jesus obtained during his classification. Additionally, these individuals wear the same kind of attire that is worn by the lowly in the society. These illustrate that the painting offers little in terms of diversity.

Eugene Delacroix has integrated an element of liberty his painting as depicted by the half-naked female figure hoisting the flag. The woman wears a Phrygian cap symbolizing freedom. In ancient Rome, freed slaves were given the Phrygian cap to wear to indicate their newly liberated status, and this headwear became a symbol of freedom and liberty on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. On the other hand, in Francisco’s the third of May painting, there is no element of liberty judging from the frowning and pleading faces, and some individuals are hiding their faces[8].

Conclusion

Liberty leading the people and the third of may have both depicted different elements of revolution. One striking element that the two works have is death. Almost all revolutions result in loss of life and excessive spillage of blood. Diversity is fundamental in ensuring a successful revolution as depicted in both paintings. The individuals involved in the liberty leading the people painting are drawn from diverse sections within the society, and the revolution was successful while on the other hand there is no diversification in the third of may painting. Revolution has existed over the ages in which some have been successful while some have resulted in failures. Brutality and excessive forces from authorities in place on their citizens are some of the characteristics of failed revolution movements as depicted by Francisco’s the third of may painting

[1] Zygmont, b. 2019. “Delacroix, Liberty Leading The People”. Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/later-europe-and-americas/enlightenment-revolution/a/delacroix-liberty-leading.

[2] Zapellla, c. 2019. “Goya, Third Of May, 1808”. Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/romanticism/romanticism-in-spain/a/goya-third-of-may-1808.
[3] Zygmont, b. 2019. “Delacroix, Liberty Leading The People”. Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/later-europe-and-americas/enlightenment-revolution/a/delacroix-liberty-leading.

[4] paul, g. 2019. “Paul Gauguin: Analysis Of 50 Famous Paintings & Biography”. Franciscogoya.Com. http://www.franciscogoya.com/the-third-of-may-1808.jsp.

[5] Delacroix, Eugene. Liberty leading the people. American Library Color Slide Company, 1830.

[6] paul, g. 2019. “Paul Gauguin: Analysis Of 50 Famous Paintings & Biography”. Franciscogoya.Com. http://www.franciscogoya.com/the-third-of-may-1808.jsp.

[7] Delacroix, Eugene. Liberty leading the people. American Library Color Slide Company, 1830.

[8] Zapellla, c. 2019. “Goya, Third Of May, 1808”. Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/romanticism/romanticism-in-spain/a/goya-third-of-may-1808.