What painting by Eugène Delacroix shows Liberty leading the people?

The story behind the answer

The painting by Eugène Delacroix that shows Liberty leading the people is Liberty Leading the People.

Delacroix painted the large oil-on-canvas work in 1830, inspired by the July Revolution, or “Three Glorious Days,” that overthrew King Charles X. Liberty appears as an allegorical woman carrying the French tricolour and leading fighters over a barricade. Her Phrygian cap connects her with revolutionary ideas of freedom, while the mixed crowd suggests participation across social classes.

A common mix-up is confusing this painting with the French Revolution of 1789. Delacroix’s subject is the uprising of 1830, which brought Louis-Philippe to the throne and established the July Monarchy. The work was first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1831 and was eventually transferred to the Louvre in 1874. Its companion choices are also Delacroix works, but none depicts Liberty leading a revolutionary crowd.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

Add question to a list

Choose a list to keep this question in: