National Imagination

"Liberty"
"Liberty leading the people to freedom" by Delacroix, probably one of the most famous depictions of Marianne, has so much detail it can’t be described justly in only a few paragraphs. Because of this, I will describe her portrait specifically and only some of the larger details.

"Liberty" in this case is leading the people away from danger and away from the city (see right side for city) by walking over all of the fallen soldiers. The contrast in this image is very clear and important. Liberty and her flag are standing under the most amount of light while the fallen soldiers all have shadows over their faces, as if they didn’t have distinctive features and could be anyone.

The three most noticeable people surrounding her are: a boy with a gun (on the right), an aristocrat (on the close left) and a low class revolutionary (on the far left). They are all holding their weapons up high imitating her with the flag, except for the aristocrat who is holding his gun lower (this action makes him seem reserved). All of these details and many that I have missed, not only are a critique of an event in France, but are a way to describe the power and unity that this icon creates when seen by a French national.

Warrior
This drawing, although cartoonish, has many of the details that I’ve been searching for in other works. This image makes her more human like than the others where she is drawn more as a goddess or someone unreachable, it makes her one of the people: a revolutionary. It portrays her as a warrior by wearing a military uniform, but also shows her feminine qualities by removing the hat from her head and showing long blond hair.

Also, she is holding the French flag in her left hand, an image we have seen in other paintings. But, not only is she holding the flag, she once again is embodying the flag by the combination of red, white and blue in her uniform. If this isn’t just an artists rendition on a French military uniform, and the actual colors of the uniform are red, white and blue, then the creation of a flag with "human" qualities is even stronger.

"Calendrier Republicain"
This is a poster or a "Calendrier Republicain" that portrays Marianne. Choosing Marianne to be portrayed on the cover of this obviously political handout seems to have a greater meaning than just choosing France’s symbol.

The drawing portrays a woman, reading books and sitting on the top of a mountain. The first detail, nature, is obvious by the rock she is placed on top of. The books she is reading not only portray her as an educated woman, which represents a specific class in France, but someone who is knowledgeable in philosophy (her book "Moralis"), mathematics (the book she is reading), but also Politics (some of the papers that are scattered around her).

The artist has also allowed her to assume the roll of Greek goddess. She is standing on a pedestal reading, with a cherub standing by her and in clothing that looks similar to what Greek artists portrayed their goddesses in. The combination of this political document with the image of this woman-turned-goddess makes her somewhat human. Because we are looking at her reading and taking notes on her reading it’s almost as if she has written the text that is below her.