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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Jeanne d'Arc Guerrière statue, carved by Edme-François-Étienne Gois at the beginning of the 19th century, is the first major public statuary tribute to the Pucelle in the Centre-Val de Loire region. Commanded under the First Empire, she embodies a militarized vision of heroin, inspired by a missing painting by Philippe de Champaigne. Originally installed in Martroi Square (1804-1855), it was moved several times: head of the George V Bridge (1855-1955), wharf of Fort-des-Tourelles (1955-2013), and finally in the square of La Pucelle in 2013.

The statue, 2.60 meters high on a base of pink granite, disappoints the Orléanians by its modest size despite its dynamic pose, trolling an English shield and brandishing a banner close to the tricolor flag. Ranked a historical monument in 2017 with five other Orléan statues, it retains its original reliefs (now molded in resin) at the historic and archaeological museum of Orléan. Its base and decorative elements bear witness to the technical and symbolic evolutions of the commemoration of Joan of Arc.

The work reflects tensions between local representation and national ambition, while illustrating the urban displacements associated with the development of Orleans. Its late ranking (2017) underscores its heritage value, despite initial criticism on its scale. The statue remains a strong symbol of Orlean memory, anchored in a square dedicated to the Pucelle, on the banks of the Loire.

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