Question

How did the female figure become an alligurary of the nation during the 19th century in Europe

Answer 1

1. Artists, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, often made efforts to represent a country as if it were a person. The female figures were chosen to express an abstract idea of a nation. These female figures, thus, became an allegory of the nation.

2. In France, the female figure was christened Marianne, which was characterized by Liberty and the Republic - the red cap. the tricolor, the cockade. Statues of Marianne stood in public squares to remind the people of the national symbol of unity.  

3. In Germany, the female figure - Germania became the allegory of the German nation. In visual representations, Germania wore the crown of oak leaves, as the German oak stood for heroism.