Liberty Leading the People: How Revolutions Turn

In which John discusses one of his favorite paintings, Eugene Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People.

Other topics include the French Revolution, the Reign of Terror, the rise of Napoleon, and how by the time Eugene Delacroix painted his most famous painting, he had lived his entire life in political and social crisis due to failed revolutions and YET STILL somehow managed to be hopeful about the revolution of July, 1830.

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[vlogbrothers]

Thanks for being here with us. -John

[sagetenshi]

“That’s often the thing about revolutions: they go all the way around” was a chilling idea I never really thought about before and now that sentence is stuck in my brain like a piece of mind shrapnel

[EyeLean]

As a history teacher, I'd say "France's last monarch... to date."

[diegomorett]

“But here's some advice, boy. Don't put your trust in revolutions. They always come around again. That's why they're called revolutions.”
― Terry Pratchett, Night Watch

[HelloFutureMe]

One of the interesting things about adulthood is losing the perceived inevitability and durability of things we take for the status quo in childhood: democracy, press freedom, otherwise. Seeing democratic backsliding as I've grown, you start to realise these things need to be defended, and can and will be lost.

[franzferdinand]

in school I've mostly been taught about revolution as very black and white-- either successes or failures, good or bad. The context of Delacroix's lifetime being one of constant political upheaval adds to the meanings of the painting. Lady Liberty as good or bad, leading them into battle or away from it. A nation's history summed up in one frame.

[catherinecase]

I love when we get a surprise Crash Course video!

[ayaanmohammad]

I find it really cool how you can see so much in a painting. For me it's one of those things I can fully comprehend after someone has told me at least a little about it, but I know nothing about it on my own.

[ella]

happy almost esther day you wonderful people

[justyourlocalrat_]

This is gonna be my first time celebrating Esther Day with Nerdfighteria. I am aromantic (I don't experience romantic attraction), and I genuinely cannot express how much it means to me to have this entire community celebrate a day dedicated to non-romantic love in such a romance-centered culture. I'm so grateful for Esther creating this tradition and for Nerdfighteria keeping her legacy going

[nyella]

MY WHOLE EDUCATION HAS BEEN A LIE

... or at least my whole education on this painting (that was an outright lie, my history teacher in school used this to teach us about the French Revolution) and a big part of the narratives on the French Revolution. How *interesting* how he and others tought us about the revolution as if there was an happily ever after, instead of not only Napoleon, but the literal royal family came back to power o.O

Mind = blown.

[GabrielPettier]

As a french, thank you for talking about the complexity of the french revolution, I feel it's often brushed up as a one step event, sometime with the mention of the terror, depending on the politics of people talking about it, but it was indeed much messier than that, it's certainly impossible to make it justice in 4 minutes, but this is a good approximation :).

[spacey-sam]

I think it’s so important to look at paintings like this in the context in which it was painted, it usually completely changes the context of the art than how we currently view it through our contemporary lens (much like most history now that I think about it)


Also the July revolution is the revolution Les Miserables revolves around!

[TheJaredtheJaredlong]

It's always interesting to learn why things are famous. Things like this painting that are so well known, yet I have no idea why I know about it.

[Anilikedifranco]

as a pebble-brained woman who struggles to remember dates & events, i do so appreciate how you assume that we recall french history without being condescending. fantastic teacher

[ChrisJBT]

I love French King names
"So which King was it?"
"Louis"
"Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?"
"Wait, actually, it was Charles."
"That changes nothing."

[meg]

i just have to say that sarah and the art assignment were a large part of the reason i took an art history class in high school. now, i'm working on my MA in art history and working on my thesis about delacroix!! all that to say, i love this video a lot

[justgraceanne]

John - Thank you for this reminder as all of us old enough to vote are researching and making informed decisions as best as we can today. Here's to working to make democracy and liberty as inevitable as we can. 💛

[nixhixx]

“Winners never talk about glorious victories. That’s because they’re the ones who see what the battlefield looks like afterward. It’s only the losers who have glorious victories.”
― Terry Pratchett, Small Gods

"Don't put your trust in revolutions. They always come around again. That's why they're called revolutions. People die, and nothing changes."
― Terry Pratchett, Night Watch

People on the side of The People always ended up disappointed, in any case. They found that The People tended not to be grateful or appreciative or forward-thinking or obedient. The People tended to be small-minded and conservative and not very clever and were even distrustful of cleverness. And so the children of the revolution were faced with the age-old problem: it wasn’t that you had the wrong kind of government, which was obvious, but that you had the wrong kind of people.
― Terry Pratchett, Night Watch

[jackross]

John, I found you as a 12 year old. I'm 27 and living under the threat of democratic collapse. You're still one of the few guiding lights I have.