Who were Marianne and Germania What …

. In olden times the best way to present an idea was through symbolic

personifications. This was the most common and appealing way to invite people’s

attention. From 1789 females appeared in paintings as symbol of liberty and

revolution. During the French Revolution, many symbolic personifications of

‘Liberty’ and ‘Reason’ appeared. Marianne was the female figure invented by artists

in the nineteenth century to represent the French nation. Her characteristics

were drawn from those of Liberty and the Republic—the red cap, the tricolour, the  cockade. Statues of Marianne were erected in public places to remind the public of the national symbol of unity and to persuade them to identify with it. Marianne images were marked on coins and stamps.

Similarly, Germania became the symbol of the German nation. This work was done by the artist Philip Veit. He depicted Germania as a female figure standing against a background where beams of sunlight shone through the tricolour fabric of the national flag. Germania was wearing a crown of oak leaves, as the German oak stands for heroism