Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The statue of General Desaix, made in bronze by Charles-François Leboeuf dit Nanteuil in 1844, was installed in 1848 on the Place de Jaude in Clermont-Ferrand. It commemorates Louis Charles Antoine Desaix (1768–1800), general of Napoleon who died at the Battle of Marengo, native of the Auvergne region. The project was launched in 1838 by the General Council of Puy-de-Dôme in a context of national reconciliation under Louis-Philippe, with a solemn inauguration in 1848 on a temporary base, in the presence of veterans comrades of the General.

The current pedestal, designed in 1903 by architect Emmanuel-Adolphe Poncelet, replaces the original brick and wood. It is erected in granite, Ruoms stone and marble on the occasion of the inauguration of the monument in Vercingetorix de Bartholdi, located opposite on the same square. This higher pedestal incorporates commemorative plaques and reverbera added in 1861. The statue and its base have been classified as historic monuments since March 5, 1992, highlighting their heritage value.

A medallion at Desaix's effigy, created by Léonard Morel-Ladeuil in 1848, as well as commemorative texts by the poet Charles-Antoine Ravel, initially accompanied the tribute. The Desaix Fountain (called La Pyramide), erected in 1801 near a crossroads of Clermont-Ferrand, also recalls his memory by an obelisk evoking the countryside of Egypt. These elements illustrate the local and national anchor of this general, a symbol of bravery and sacrifice.

External links