Legacy
The painting inspired the Statue of Liberty in New York City, which was given to the United States as a gift from the French only 50 years after Liberty Leading the People had been painted. The statue, which holds a torch in its hand, takes a more stable, immovable stance than that of the woman in the painting. An engraved version of the painting, along with a depiction of Delacroix himself, was featured on the 100-franc note in the early 1990s.
The painting has had an influence on classical music; the American George Antheil titled his Symphony No. 6 After Delacroix, and stated that the work was inspired by Liberty Leading the People. The imagery was adapted by Robert Ballagh to commemorate Ireland's independence struggle on an Irish postage stamp in 1979, the centenary of the birth of Pádraig Pearse. The painting was used for the band Coldplay's album cover Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, with the words "Viva La Vida" written in white paint.
Mise en Demeure, a Montreal band, used a modified version of the painting to promote an album. Mise en Demeure's version shows Québec solidaire politician Amir Khadir holding a gun over the dead body of Quebec premier Jean Charest, with the band's singer, dressed as an anarchist banana, taking the place of Liberty.
Read more about this topic: Liberty Leading The People
Famous quotes containing the word legacy:
“What is popularly called fame is nothing but an empty name and a legacy from paganism.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)