Do you know who that girl appears in the real notes?
Have you noticed that in the banknotes in circulation in Brazil, in addition to the various animals that print the reverse face - such as the macaw in the $ 10 tickets and the golden lion tamarin in the $ 20 -, there is also a girl who appears on all real notes? The figure resembles the sculpture of a woman, all serious and without eyes, illustrating the obverse side of all banknotes. But after all, who is this girl?
According to the Central Bank of Brazil, it is a symbolic effigy, that is, an illustration representing the Republic. In our country, it was interpreted in the form of a sculpture, and the original image that inspired this representation was Eugène Delacroix's “Freedom Leading the People”, in which Freedom is presented in the form of a sculpture. woman. Check out the chart below:
Thus, generally, the image of the Republic is represented by a woman wearing the freedom cap, a kind of cap - usually red - that the French Republicans adopted as uniform during the taking of the Bastille.
The banknote girl and the ... Freemasonry?
However, the woman who appears in Delacroix's painting, besides representing Liberty and being the embodiment of the French Republic, is also known as Marianne, one of the symbols of Freemasonry. According to the staff of the blog No Esquadro, the Freemasons had a fundamental participation during the French Revolution, so much so that the main motto of this event, “Freedom, Equality, Fraternity”, is shared by the organization.
According to the publication, freedom was the first principle to be conquered during the revolution, since without it it would be impossible to achieve equality or fraternity. Thus, the French decided to adopt the figure of a woman to represent this principle, and it is believed that the name arose from the contraction of two other very common names among the French women of the time, Marie and Anne.
Lady of Liberty
Today, the Lady of Liberty busts, containing the motto of the revolution, can be found in virtually every public building in France and have been adopted as a graphic representation of the Republic throughout the West.
In addition, busts are also mandatory objects in all French Masonic temples, and it is quite common that they contain other symbols used by Freemasonry, such as the square and the compass, the all-seeing eye triangle and the star. of five tips, for example.
Marianne and the Statue of Liberty
Speaking of symbolism, the Statue of Liberty - located in New York - as you may know, was a gift from France to the US in commemoration of the centenary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The statue was produced by French sculptor (and Freemason) Frédréric Auguste Bartholdi and, according to the blog, it is a Masonic version of Marianne.
But back to the ballot business, if you look at the $ 1 bill a little more carefully, you'll find the famous “all-seeing eye” on the reverse side, another famous symbol of Freemasonry that passes through your hands every day. millions of people, as well as the real banknote girl.
* Originally posted on 07/03/2013 .
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