TheOldMastersPrintsLiberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix: meaning, location and key facts
Liberty Leading the People is an oil on canvas by Eugène Delacroix, painted in 1830. It measures 260 × 325 cm and is held at the Louvre, Paris.
Key facts
| Artist | Eugène Delacroix |
|---|---|
| Date | 1830 |
| Medium | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 260 × 325 cm (height × width) |
| Museum | Louvre, Paris |
| Style | Romanticism |
| Data source | Wikidata (Q29530) · Wikipedia |
What it shows
A woman in a Phrygian cap, the allegory of Liberty, strides over a barricade holding the French tricolour in one hand and a bayonetted musket in the other. She is followed by a bourgeois in a top hat, a worker with a sabre and a boy brandishing two pistols, while the fallen lie at her feet.
Delacroix painted the scene in autumn 1830, a few months after the Three Glorious Days, the July uprising that overthrew Charles X. In the smoke behind, the towers of Notre-Dame place the fight in the real Paris.
Did you know?
- The French state bought it in 1831 but kept it out of public view for years because of its revolutionary charge.
- The boy with the pistols is often said to have inspired Victor Hugo’s Gavroche in Les Misérables (1862).
- Between 2023 and 2024 the Louvre restored it, removing yellowed varnish that had dulled the blue, white and red of the flag.
Where to see the original
Liberty Leading the People is at the Louvre, Paris. Works are sometimes lent to exhibitions or taken down for restoration, so it is worth checking the museum’s website before you go.
Which print size to choose
The print keeps the proportions of the original: if they differ from the paper, the painting is centred with a white border and never cropped. More details in our size guide.
| A4 (21 × 29.7 cm) | shelves, desks and gallery walls |
|---|---|
| A3 (29.7 × 42 cm) | bedrooms, hallways and small walls |
| A2 (42 × 59.4 cm) | above a sideboard, chest of drawers or headboard |
Prints are made to order in the Czech Republic and reach the EU in 3 to 8 days, with no customs. Canvases are made in the USA and take about 2 to 3 weeks, with EU VAT included in the price.
Frequently asked questions
- Where is Liberty Leading the People?
- The original is held at the Louvre, Paris.
- How big is Liberty Leading the People?
- The original painting measures 260 × 325 cm (height × width).
- Who painted Liberty Leading the People and when?
- It was painted by Eugène Delacroix in 1830.
- Can I hang a reproduction of Liberty Leading the People at home?
- Yes. The work is in the public domain, so it can be freely reproduced. We offer it as a matte print in A4, A3, A2 (from €18.99) and as a ready-to-hang canvas (from €55.99), with free shipping to the EU.
Updated 21 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Message us through the shop and we will fix it.
