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Key figures

Origin and history

The Triomphe de la République is a project created by a competition launched in 1878 by the Paris municipality to commemorate the Republic. Although not selected from among the finalists, Jules Dalou's bold project — deemed not to be in line with the programme — seduces the public and the city, which commands its realization. Dalou worked there twenty years, presenting a plaster model painted during the centenary of the Revolution (1889), before its definitive inauguration in bronze on 19 November 1899, under the chairmanship of Émile Loubet. The technique of cast iron, originally planned in lost wax, is finally adapted in cast sand by Thiébaut Frères due to the colossal size of the work.

The monument, installed on the Place de la Nation on horseback on the 11th and 12th arrondissements, represents the Republic (Marianne) standing on a chariot drawn by lions, surrounded by allegories of Labour, Justice and Peace. Children symbolize instruction, equity and wealth. In 1908 Georges Gardet added bronze sea monsters in the surrounding basin, symbolizing the defeated reactionary forces. These elements, as well as the basin, disappeared in the 1960s during the works of the RER, while the monument became an emblematic place of popular gatherings, as in May 68 or January 2015.

The work is inspired by the Freedom guiding the people of Delacroix, with a Marianne in the naked, evoking a nude divinity. The globe under its feet underscores the universality of republican values. Dalou combines ancient references (Roman beam) and modern symbols (Phrygian voucher, torch of the Genius of Liberty). The monument, now in the heart of Marianne's garden, embodies both an artistic tribute to the Republic and a witness to the social struggles that marked her history.

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