Liberty in a Phrygian Cap – French 19th Century Drawing

Allegory of LIBERTY
French 19th Century Academic Drawing

Charcoal drawing heightened with chalk on blue grey Ingres paper.

Profile of Liberty drawn in the style of a classical stone relief.

This drawing is most likely the work of a French art student during the late 19th or early 20th Century.

Liberty, shown in profile wears the Phrygian Cap (Liberty cap) which was adopted by the French revolutionaries of 1798 as a symbol of liberation.

The Phrygian Cap or Bonnet Rouge
The Phrygian Cap was an adaptation of a hat worn by the ancient inhabitatns of Phygia and was originally a symbol of the Persian deity Mithras. In ancient Rome, this style of hat was worn by newly freed slaves as a symbol of their newly acquired citizenry.

An adaptation of the cap, made of red woollen cloth to match the clothing of the Sans Culottes, became popular in France after the storming of the Bastille. It was known in France as the Bonnet Rouge. The phrase “bonnet rouge has also come to mean a revolutionary or an extremist.

Dimensions: Around 9.5 X 12 inches (24 x 31 cm)

Condition: Very good. Sheet very slightly wrinkled.