Vendome Column ( fr. La colonne Vendôme ) - Parisian “Victory Column” (former name) of the Great Army on Place Vendôme in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, erected by decree of Napoleon I of January 1, 1806, in memory of the victories he won in the campaign 1805 year . It was built from August 25, 1806 to August 15, 1810.
| Sight | |
| Vendome column | |
|---|---|
| La colonne Vendôme | |
 | |
| A country |  France |
| City | Paris |
| Architectural style | Empire |
| Project Author | architect J. B. Leper and J. Honduen |
| Building | 1806 - 1810 years |
| Key dates | |
| 1871 - dismantled 1873 - restored | |
| Height | |
| Material | |
The column, an imitation of the Trajan’s column in Rome [1] , supposedly made of the metal of hundreds of guns taken by the Great Army from the enemies - Russians and Austrians, is actually made of stone and lined with bronze bas-reliefs. This is visible in the photograph of the destroyed column. Its height is 44.3 m, diameter 3.6 m. The column is spiral-shaped - a strip 280 m long - lined with bronze from 425 bas-reliefs by Leper , which depict the actions of the campaign of 1805. An internal staircase allows you to climb up. The top of the column is surrounded by a gallery, in the middle of which stands a statue of Napoleon, the third in the history of the column; executed by the sculptor Auguste Dumont and represents Napoleon in the form of the ancient Roman emperor, draped in a short cloak and having signs of glory - a sword, the winged goddess of victory and the imperial laurel wreath .
History
A column cast from Austrian and Russian cannons taken at the Battle of Austerlitz , modeled on Trajan's column at the request of Napoleon in 1807 , with a statue of the emperor and 76 sculptural reliefs by artist David based on Bergeré's sketches was installed on the site of a bronze statue of Louis XIV by sculptor Girardon which stood there for exactly one hundred years from August 12, 1692 to August 12, 1792 . The construction of the monument was worth 2 million francs .
After the Allies took Paris in 1814, the first statue of Napoleon was removed and replaced with the white flag of the Bourbons with lilies . In 1818, it was melted and a statue of Henry IV was made on the New Bridge .
In 1833 , after the July Revolution , Louis-Philippe I ordered to make a new statue of Napoleon and put it on a column. It was made by sculptor Sörr . Napoleon is represented in his two-cornered suit , in a frock coat , worn over his uniform , with a telescope in his right hand. In 1863, Napoleon III , fearing that a highly artistic statue might suffer from bad weather, ordered to remove it and put it in the House of Disabled , closer to the tomb of Napoleon I, and make a copy for the column.
The Vendome column with the restored statue of Napoleon I became, on the one hand, a symbol of worship of the Bonapartists, on the other - an object of criticism of Napoleon's opponents. For example, Heine condemned this monument as a glorification of militarism . The famous French poets O. Barbier and A. Lamartine also expressed their indignation. Demanded the destruction of the column by the philosopher Comte , the publicists P. Lanjalle and P. Corie.
The time of the Paris Commune
The most dramatic events awaited the convoy in the days of the Paris Commune in 1871 . Ever since the fall of the Second Empire in September 1870, the famous artist Gustave Courbet advocated the demolition of a column that makes "the impression of a bloody stream in a peaceful garden", and for transferring this monument to the esplanade of the House of Invalids and erecting it in a desert place visited mainly the military. During the Commune, Courbet turned out to be the Commissar for Culture and was close to realizing his dream. But the public opinion of Paris required the complete destruction of the column.
On April 12, 1871, the Commune, at the suggestion of F. Pia, adopted a decree:
“The Paris Commune, believing that the imperial column on Place Vendome is a monument to barbarism, a symbol of brute force and false glory, the affirmation of militarism, the denial of international law, the constant insult of the victors on the part of the victors, the continuous assassination of one of the three great principles of the French Republic - the Brotherhood, Decides: Article one and only. “The column on Place Vendome will be destroyed.”
On May 18, 1871, the column was knocked to the ground with a huge crowd of people.
After the defeat of the Commune, the new government raised a convoy, restored the statue of Napoleon I, once again removed, and ordered Courbet to pay the costs of the court. The property of the artist was sold out, but even after leaving prison he was required to pay 10,000 francs every year. After 7 years, Courbet died in poverty.
How to get there
Metro : lines 3, 7, 8, Opéra station
Notes
- ↑ Collective of authors. World Cultural Heritage. The textbook . - Litres, 2018-07-04. - 369 p. - ISBN 9785041212827 .
Literature
- A. Plyushar . Encyclopedic Lexicon , Volume 8. - Typography of A. Plyushar ; S.-P., 1837 - p. 234 (Vendome column).
Links
- Column History (Fr.)