There is a famous saying that goes "History is written by the victors," implying that those who win the war or are in power dictate how their time period is remembered: massacres can be hailed as great victories, defeats can be denounced acts of betrayal and deceit, and cruel despots can be portrayed as respected and benevolent leaders. During the 19th century in France, the representation of history was no different; accounts of events were written by the monarchies. The difference in France was that there was another group of historians recording events, but they did not do so in words but in pictures. They were a group of 19th century French painters, the Realists and Impressionists, which included Manet, Daumier, and Delacroix. These painters, through the content and style of their work, accounted history from a more liberal standpoint than that of the ruling monarchies. Their views of events were from the eyes of the working class and the bourgeoisie, who constituted the backbone of the July Revolution of 1830, the February Revolution of 1848, as well as causing the June Days. Because of this democratic perspective, the work of these artists is very modern. From 1830 to 1900 the historical depictions of the social realists and impressionists became modern in both style and content becoming an avant-garde force that advanced both formal modernism and political liberalism.