Leading the People by Eugene Delacroix 1830

Liberty Leading the People was painted in 1830 by Eugene Delacroix. This painting is Delacroix’s most famous painting and one of the most famous of that time. This painting has a lot of history behind it and has a lot of symbolism.  Delacroix was trying to represent the French revolution, which happened because the French monarchy, which was filthy rich, had left the true French people behind. They had no food, money and lived in horrible conditions. These things led the French people to want democracy and to take down the monarchy that had been there so long.

Unlike Goya, Eugene did depict the French as heroes. He depicted a hero with having a French women leading the way, while holding the flag proudly in one hand and a musket in the other, ready to fight. Eugene made the painting during the Romanticism era and this is a romanticism painting for multiple reasons. The lady in the picture is the center of attention. She is looked upon in a goddess form and Eugene is empowering women by having her as the leader. She also has her barefooted and bare breasted which is a sign of rebellion. The man wearing the top hat on the left is the upper class of France and the rest is lower class which is showing that the French people are one and the abolishment of classes. Liberty Leading the People help inspires the Statue of Liberty in New York. This was given to the U.S. as a gift from France. ("Liberty Leading the People")

Standing up as an underdog. This painting is a great example of my theme. The French people were laughed at by the monarchy when they heard that they wanted freedom and him out. But after a while when the French were outside his house in Versailles, he realized that the end might be near. The French soldiers were much better equipped compared to the French citizens who brought whatever they had. The French fought hard to get control of cities and in the end they were victorious.

The Third of May 1808 by Francisco Goya 1814

The Third of May 1808 was painted in 1814 by Francisco Goya and shows the execution of Spanish fighters by the French during Napoleon’s rule. Napoleon was one of the greatest leaders of all time; he conquered almost all of Europe. Napoleon tried to occupy Spain but a small group of Spanish fighters fought back, but were executed on May third 1808.

Goya did not depict the Spanish as heroes; rather, he showed them as hard working people who are standing up against Napoléon, a greater power. Although the time this painting was made was during the romanticism era, Goya did not make this a Romanticism painting. In this painting, Goya does not focus on detail, but there is one detail that is very important to this painting which is the man in the middle. This man is the center of attention. He is wearing white, and the light shines on him; he also has his hands opened up. It is believed that Goya made the man in the middle to be Jesus; this is because the light shines on him and because there is a stigmata on his hand, which Jesus also had after he was crucified. Another reason why the man in the middle is significant is because the people around him are holding his legs and are behind him as a source of protection. Jesus was a man who people looked up to and asked for help which is the same feeling the Spanish had for the man wearing white. On the hill behind the Spanish resistance forces there are two faces who are supposed to be shadows. As you can clearly see they do not look like shadows and are just faces of the Spanish on the hill. ("The Third of May")

Standing up, as an underdog. This picture relates to my theme for many reasons. The Spanish forces who were not even half of Napoleon’s army stood up against the clearly bigger opponent. They did this because they knew it was right and that they were going to be ruled by people from Spain not a foreign country. The Spanish stood up for their land and failed, but they gave it their best and that’s all that matters.

David Slaying Goliath by Peter Paul Rubens 1660

This painting is a story about David the Israelite who killed Goliath who was against his people. Goliath was the toughest, strongest, and tallest man of that time and David was just a young shepherd. He was clearly going to lose against such a bigger opponent but David trusted God and hit him with his slingshot in the eye and Goliath fell to the ground and David was victorious.

 Rubens portrayed David as a hero and a child moving into manhood. Rubens made the sky on the left side of David bright while making the right side of the painting dark. Rubens is trying to show light overcoming darkness. In this painting Rubens uses the baroque style which was highly encouraged by the church. This style uses color very well and emphasizes movement as you can see David is doing. David is shown very muscular and wearing a toga. The muscularity is the same style in Roman sculpture although David was not muscular he is portrayed muscular. He is also wearing a toga which was not worn in the time of the David and Goliath by shepherds. David is also very large compared to what is described in the bible where he is a small shepherd. Rubens made the focus on David and Goliath by making all the soldiers in the back hard to see and not detailed. ("Peter Paul Rubens")

Standing up as an underdog. This painting is a prime example of my theme. David was laughed upon by the Philistines and was doubted by his own people. He did not lose faith in God to overcome the battle of Goliath. He trusted in God and swung his slingshot to kill Goliath.