Visiting the Louvre was one of the things I was most excited for on this trip, and I was not disappointed. It was incredible to see so many famous works of art, and I look forward to spending more time there later in the week. I checked instagram when we got back to the hostel and learned that we visited on the 30th anniversary of the Louvre’s pyramid. I wish I knew that beforehand. 

Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People depicted the July Revolution of 1830. It shows a woman who represents liberty, also called Marianne, holding the flag of the French Revolution in one hand and a musket in the other. Two men on her right represent the participation of the lower and middle class, and a boy on her left shows the inclusion of young people. Victor Hugo showed this in his 1862 novel, Les Misérables, with the character Gavroche. As opposed to works glorifying battle and revolution, Liberty Leading the People presents the true cost of this with the several bodies littering the street below Marianne. 

The Winged Victory of Samothrace is another interesting artwork created around the second century BCE. As opposed to Delacroix’s painting, this statue seems to glorify battle by showing a winged goddess at the head of a battleship. Though the statue is incomplete, missing the arms, head, and an original wing, there is enough for the viewer to see the power and grace in the goddess’ stance. The comparison between these two works, one from the Romantic Era, the other Hellenistic, reminds me of the contrast between poetic works from the Romantics like Blake and how it differs from the previous standard of literature, influenced by the classics.