10 statues in Paris that are a must-see

The task I took on when I started writing this article is a brutal one. Almost impossible. How can you pick 10 chosen statues and abandon and neglect thousands of others that are no less worthy? How do you choose the ten greatest from an endless selection?

To make it easier for myself and narrow down the options, I decided that the article would only deal with statues placed in public places: in parks, gardens, squares and city streets, and not those that reside respectfully inside buildings. Museums.

From the mid-19th century onwards, Paris Gradually become an open sculpture museum. The blessed and fascinating process has not stopped since then and continues constantly to this day. For example, in 2019, a huge and controversial environmental sculpture by the American sculptor and painter Jeff Koons was added to Paris. The sculpture was placed in the plaza behind the small palace and is called “Wreath of Tulips”. I really liked to crouch at the feet of this impressive sculpture. Although I did not choose it as one of my ten favorites, it certainly deserves to lead and decorate this article as its cover image.

There is no internal ranking among the sculptures below, so the order of their appearance in the article is meaningless.

List of must-see statues in Paris

The mouth of truth

A wonderful marble statue has been standing in the eastern part of the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris since 1871. It has an Italian name – La bocca della verita (The Mouth of Truth). The sculptor is Jules Blanchard and his work refers to a Roman legend according to which you cannot take your hand out of the mouth of the Statue of Truth unless you have never lied. When you are in the Luxembourg Gardens, put yourself to the test. In my case, the hand came out very easily.

A great scene illustrating the idea appears in the film “Roman Holiday” (1953) starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck who have fun examining their past lies by the original statue in Rome.

listening

The moving statue of Henri De Miller (1953-1999) is placed in the Place René Cassin in the renovated garden of the Forum L'Elle . The statue is called Ecoute. In Hebrew this can be translated as listen or listen. And perhaps it is not in the imperative but simply 'listen'.

The story of the statue is ingenious: it tilts its ear toward the ground. Listening to the earth and looking at the sky. It is a reminder of the noises and events that characterized the huge Le Halle market that used to be here. The statue listens to the underground noises of Paris, the echoes of the earth's bowels, the noises of the people walking and coming in the huge shopping center and the sounds of the subway passing by.

This is one of my favorite statues in Paris and it moves me every time I pass by it. A lovely statue, a great place, a pleasant garden around it. It's always fun to return to it and combine it with a visit to the nearby and magnificent Saint-Eustache Church.

Walter

Voltaire is the pen name of François-Marie Arouet, a French philosopher and writer. He was one of the leading intellectuals of the Age of Enlightenment and believed that literature was a way to lead social change. His cynical, satirical and philosophical writings presented his disgust with Christianity, intolerance and tyranny. The magnificent statue of Voltaire by sculptor Leon Drivier was placed in 1962 in a small, modest and somewhat hidden garden called Squre Honore Champion in the 6th arrondissement at the end of Rue De Seine, very close to the river.

Honoré Champollion, after whom the garden is named, was a bookstore owner and publisher who lived at 30 Rue Jacques until he died suddenly of an embolism at the age of 67 in 1913. He has a beautiful tomb in Montparnasse. His publishing house still exists.

Greek actor

In one of my exhibitions, I called a photograph of this statue “the world’s first selfie.” This was of course in jest. In fact, it is a bronze statue called “The Greek Actor,” located in the Luxembourg Gardens next to the rectangular Medici Fountain, built in the Italian style. This wonderful statue is the work of sculptor Arthur Bourgeois.

The sculpture was inspired by Greek theater and depicts a young man learning his next role with the text in his hand and a mask on his forehead. In the background, on the right side of the picture, is the impressive and important Pantheon building.

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc, also known as the Maid of Orléans and the Maid of Orléans, was a French warrior who played a key role in the liberation of France from English occupation during the Hundred Years' War in the 15th century. She is considered a French national heroine . She was executed in 1431 at the age of 19.

Joan of Arc has been immortalized in many statues. The golden statue of Joan of Arc riding a horse was created by the renowned sculptor Emanuel Fremiet, whose many important statues are scattered throughout Paris. The statue has been placed in the Place des Pyramides near the Louvre Museum since 1874. A spectacular and powerful statue whose place on this list was beyond doubt.

Churchill

Winston Churchill was a British politician and statesman. After a long career as an army officer, military journalist, author, historian, and politician, Churchill rose to power. He served as Prime Minister for two terms, from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955.

The impressive statue of Winston Churchill in Paris is located in front of the Petit Palais, in the 8th arrondissement , on the Boulevard Churchill leading from the Champs-Elysées to the Pont Alexandre III. The base of the statue reads We shall never surrender. The statue is relatively new, from 1998, and the artist is Jean Cardot. A wonderful statue.

Winged Muse

We are back in the Luxembourg Gardens. Near the entrance from Boulevard Saint-Michel, on a vast lawn among colorful flowers and tall trees, stands a very impressive statue that deserves to be included on this list. The statue shows a winged muse embracing the chest of the poet Leconte de Lisle (1818-1894), who is considered the father of the Parnassian school of French poetry.

In 1873 he was appointed assistant chief librarian of the Luxembourg Palace Library, and in 1886 he was elected a member of the French Academy in place of Victor Hugo, who had died a few months earlier. The statue was inaugurated in 1898 and is the work of Denys Puech.

Statue of Diane

Similar to the Luxembourg Gardens, which earned three places on my top ten list, the Royal Tuileries Gardens also have a very impressive collection of high-quality and fascinating environmental sculptures, some of which are nude sculptures. Of all the sculptures in the Tuileries, my favorite is the statue of Diane with a dog.

It is a perfect marble statue in a perfect setting and with an equally perfect background, called La Statue de Diane, created by sculptor Edmond Leveque in 1866 and placed in 1872 in the Tuileries Gardens.

Crossing the walls

On the side of the wall at Place Marcel Ayme in Montmartre is a wonderful statue with a fascinating story. During World War II, the French writer Marcel Ayme wrote a short story called “Crossing the Walls” (Le Passe Muraille).

The protagonist of the story is Dutilleul, a small-time government official, who suddenly discovers that he has supernatural powers and that he can pass through the walls of houses. When the new deputy director in his office begins to disturb his peace with new instructions and procedures, he takes advantage of the situation to abuse the deputy director, to have fun and to make small pranks. Dutilleul is soon dragged into criminal games, robbing diamonds and banks, to escaping from the police and to have love affairs. When he is arrested and thrown behind bars, he uses his abilities and escapes from prison with ease.

It all ends when one fine day he swallows a headache pill and the seemingly insignificant little pill has a side effect that stops his ability to cross walls. The effect of the pill occurs just as he is on his way out through one of the walls and he remains stuck inside the wall. The magnificent sculpture was created by the renowned actor and artist Jean Marais . Inspired by this story, Yehuda Paradis wrote the Hebrew poem “The Man in the Wall” in 1955.

By the way, this statue is also on the Montmartre walking tour that I created for you.

The thinking man

With the last sculpture featured in this article, I go beyond my declaration that all the sculptures selected would be from public places. I simply couldn’t resist including Rodin’s The Thinker here. I felt that this list would be incomplete without it. This is my favorite sculpture in the world. The sculpture is displayed in the sculpture garden of the Rodin Museum in the 7th arrondissement. You will have to pay a basic entrance fee to the gardens to see it, but it is definitely worth it.

The amount of energy bubbling from the statue is immense. Rodin himself explained at the time: “What makes the ‘thinking man’ think is the fact that he thinks not only with his brain, with his frowning eyebrows, with his flared nostrils and pursed lips, but with every muscle of his hands and arms, his legs and back, with his clenched fists and his clenched toes.” Perfect.

Looking for more interesting things to see in Paris?

Here are some articles by Joel that can help you:

• Recommended places in Paris – the ten attractions not to be missed
• 15 Parks, Gardens and Forests in Paris You Must Know by Yoel Tamanlis
• 17 Romantic Places in Paris Where You Should Ask – “Will You Marry Me?” By Yoel Tamanlis

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