Liberty Still Image

Engraving of a woman in a toga and Phrygian cap personifying Liberty, seated with a staff and broken chains, within an oval frame, titled "La Liberté."

Dublin Core

Title

Liberty

Description

Even before the Revolution, the French had used a woman in a toga to symbolize liberty. By July 1789 this symbol had become quite common and would only grow more familiar over the revolutionary decade. Generally the female Liberty was a poised counterpart to the frantic actions of the Revolution. She represented calm like a saint. Belonging to no group and no particular place, she stood for a universal principle based on reason.

Creator

Madame de Monchy (engraver)
Louis-Simon Boizot (designer)

Source

Bibliothèque Nationale de France

Date

1793-1794

Rights

Public Domain

Relation

http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/4/|Collection de Vinck. Un siècle d'histoire de France par l'estampe, 1770-1870. Vol. 44 (pièces 5943-6108), Ancien Régime et Révolution

Format

JPEG

Language

French

Identifier

4

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Engraving

Physical Dimensions

33 x 24.5 cm

Title (French)

La Liberté

Citation

Madame de Monchy (engraver) and Louis-Simon Boizot (designer), “Liberty,” LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOUTION, accessed November 9, 2026, https://revolution.chnm.org/d/4.