DXCIII (post in English) : The statue of Charlemagne and his "leudes" : a bronze statue which had difficulty finding its home

Cet article a été publié en français le 28 juin 2009.

The statue of Charlemagne, in winter, in the rising sun

 One can find this huge statue of the emperor Charlemagne (= "Charles the Great") with his "leudes" as it is written on the base. This statue is not necessarily in good taste but nevertheless we end up attaching ourselves to it. I often take pictures of it.

In autumn, with the sun setting on Notre Dame.

In winter, under a blanket of snow

This statue has a long history. It was designed when France was ruled by the Emperor Napoléon III, then an epoch when it was good to glorify the empire... But after, the proclamation of the Republic in 1870, this idea became old-fashioned quickly. Furthermore, this statue symbolised a period when France and Germany were one single entity which was ne longer a popular theme after the conquest of Alsace-Moselle by Germany in accordance with the treaty of Frankfort in 1871.

Indeed, a plaster version of the statue was proposed in 1853 by two sculptors, Louis and Charles Rochet, then it was exhibited at the Universal Exposition of 1867. The bronze version was finished for the Universal Exposition in 1878. The problem was that nobody wanted anything to do with this statue anymore. So Charles Rochet proposed to pay for the installation of his work.

In January 1879, the council of Paris deliberated about this question. The Left was against the erection of the statue because it was considered as a tribute to absolute power. Viollet-le-duc, who directed the debate, was infuriated by this point of view, but the statue was refused.

The 15 tons and 7 m high work was finally bought by the City of Paris in 1895 for 30 000 francs. However, in 1973, it was almost moved : the council of Paris wanted to replace it by the "pilier des nautes", roman remains which were discovered in the basement. The statue of Charlemagne was given to the city of Metz but they refused to pay the transportation costs. The result was that the statue didn't move.

The way Charlemagne is represented according to the popular tradition. He holds a scepter called the "scepter of Charlemagne" that can be admired in the Louvre. Actually, this scepter dates certainly to Charles V and so is from the 14th century (500  years after the death of Charlemagne).

Furthermore, the emperor has two companions, his "leudes" that's to say
his vassals : Roland and Olivier. The two sculptors forgot that when Charlemagne became emperor in 800 (he is wearing the imperial crown), Roland is supposed to have been killed in an ambush at Roncevaux in 778, 22 years beforehand !

Sources :

- photograph of the scepter : the website of the ministry of Culture.

- a book by Georges POISSON, Guide des statues de Paris, guide visuel Hazan, 1990.