Liberty (personification)

Depictions of Liberty

La liberté, Nanine Vallain, 1794

Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World), 1886, New York, by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi

The concept of liberty has frequently been represented by personifications, often loosely shown as a female classical goddess.^[1] Examples include Marianne, the national personification of the French Republic and its values of Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, the female Liberty portrayed on United States coins for well over a century, and many others. These descend from images on ancient Roman coins of the Roman goddess Libertas and from various developments from the Renaissance onwards. The Dutch Maiden was among the first, re-introducing the cap of liberty on a liberty pole featured in many types of image, though not using the Phrygian cap style that became conventional. The 1886 Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World) by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi is a well-known example in art, a gift from France to the United States.

^ Language from the June 1916 The Numismatist: "Supremely confident like the nation she represents, the protective goddess of America moves with a supple grace, while her garments of stars and stripes seem to catch an invisible breeze."