Place Vendôme is known as one of the chicest squares in Paris and a symbol of luxury thanks to its fashion and jewelry stores (not to mention the Ritz Hotel). However, few people know that this square has another interesting feature: statues simply do not hold up there, as the sculptor of Paul McCarthy, shown in the photos above, learned firsthand and was destroyed a few days after it was placed in the square because its appearance reminded many people of a sex toy.
The history of Place Vendome
Place Vendôme was designed by one of the greatest French architects, Jules Hardouin Mansart (1646-1708) and opened in 1702. Initially, the square was called Place des Conquêtes (Place of Conquests) and when France It began to lose in the War of the Spanish Succession, it was renamed the Place “Louis le grand” and finally, when it became clear that Louis was probably not so great, it was renamed the Place Vendôme, after the illegitimate descendant of King Henry IV, who lived there. When the square was built, a bronze statue of Louis XIV, sculpted by Girardon. The statue was considered an innovation at the time due to the fact that it was the first statue cast in one piece. However, about 90 years after it was created, the statue was destroyed during French Revolution And we are left with only a smaller copy of that statue, which is displayed today in the Louvre Museum.
After the French Revolution, Napoleon came to power and, in order to open new transport arteries in the city, decided to destroy the beautiful monasteries at the northern and southern ends of the square, thus giving the square its current shape. Following the French victory at the Battle of Austerlitz, it was decided to cast the 1200 enemy cannons that had fallen into French hands and build a column with Napoleon's image on top. The column was placed in the square in 1810 and from the first moment it seemed completely foreign to the proportions of the square.
Standing at Place Vendome wasn't much luck either.
However, this column did not last long and when Napoleon was expelled from France and the Bourbon dynasty returned to power, it was decided to melt down the statue of Napoleon on top of the column and use the bronze to build a new statue of Henry IV (4-1589), the first king of the Bourbon dynasty, which was placed in the square (they demolished the column). However, this statue did not last long either. After the July Revolution of 1610 broke out, the new king, Louis Philippe (1830-1830), decided to restore the column and in order to endear himself to the people, he placed a new statue of Napoleon on it, dressed in a fashionable tailcoat. And what happened to the statue of Henry IV? You can find it in all its glory in the Place Vert Galant near the Pont Neuf bridge where it was placed with honor.
However, anyone who thought that the story of the Place Vendôme statues was over was mistaken. In 1851, Napoleon's nephew became emperor and called himself Napoleon III. As a tribute to his revered uncle, he decided to replace the statue on the top of the column and place a new statue of Napoleon, this time in the form of a Roman Emperor. In 3, following the Franco-Prussian War, Napoleon III lost power and in 1870, following the peace treaty between France and Germany, a rebellion broke out in Paris and the Commune was established. Because the members of the Commune hated everything related to Napoleon, they decided to destroy the statue that had been placed in the Place Vendôme. The famous painter supervised the destruction Gustave Courbet (Gustave Courbet 1819-1877), who on the same occasion also decided to change the name of the square from Place Vendôme to Place Internationale.
However, the Commune's rule lasted only a few months and in May 1871 Paris was occupied by French government forces. Courbet was arrested by the new regime and spent 6 months in prison. He was also fined a huge sum for destroying the statue, which he was unable to pay and as a result fled to Switzerland and died there destitute in 1877. A copy of Napoleon's statue was respectfully returned to the top of the column and continues to look down on the square to this day.
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