Liberty Leading the People

Liberty Leading the People is another of France's most iconic paintings - featured in most French history books.

Fun fact : many people believe that it represents the Revolution of 1789.

But it actually represents the Revolution of 1830, the July Revolution, which deposed King Charles X and gave rise to a new and more liberal constitutional monarchy.

Delacroix was personally close to King Charles X.

However, he was also fascinated by the energy and ideals of the revolution.

Abandoning the tradition of painting historical events, he chose to represent the Parisian barricades - a contemporary and controversial subject.

The painting is also famous for its composition.

The dominant colors - blue, white, and red - are the colors of the Revolution.

The bold lines draw our eyes to the flag, the symbol of hope and patriotism.

It also controversially represents different social classes coming together - which would have been very scandalous at the time.

It was initially acquired by the government but was then returned to Delacroix, out of fear that it might spark political unrest.

Fun fact : in 1999, the painting was lent to an exhibition in Tokyo.

However it was so large that it could not fit in a standard 747 - so a special Airbus Beluga had to be chartered for the occasion!