This marble sculpture of Joan of Arc was made in 1852 by Francois Rude. She is depicted as a young woman with flowing dress holding and resting a helmet with her left hand as she raises her right hand as if she hears something. Joan of Arc made a saint in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV.
Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us:
"Joan of Arc (French: Jeanne d'Arc,...ca. 1412 – 30 May 1431), nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" (French: La Pucelle d'Orléans), is a folk heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. She was born to a peasant family in north-east France. Claiming divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the coronation of Charles VII of France. She was captured by the Burgundians, transferred to the English in exchange for money, put on trial by the pro-English Bishop of Beauvais Pierre Cauchon for charges of "insubordination and heterodoxy", and was burned at the stake for heresy when she was 19 years old.
Twenty-five years after her execution, an inquisitorial court authorized by Pope Callixtus III examined the trial, pronounced her innocent, and declared her a martyr. Joan of Arc was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920. She is one of the patron saints of France, along with St. Denis, St. Martin of Tours, St. Louis IX, and St. Theresa of Lisieux. Joan said she had received visions from God instructing her to support Charles VII and recover France from English domination late in the Hundred Years' War. The uncrowned King Charles VII sent her to the siege of Orléans as part of a relief mission. She gained prominence when she overcame the dismissive attitude of veteran commanders and caused the lifting of the siege in only nine days. Several additional swift victories led to Charles VII's coronation at Reims.
Joan of Arc has been a popular figure to depict since the time of her death and many famous writers, filmmakers and composers who have created works about her. Cultural depictions of Joan of Arc have continued in film, theatre, television, video games, music, and performances to this day."
As for the Asteroid, Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us:
"127 Johanna is a large, dark main-belt asteroid that was discovered by French astronomers Paul Henry and Prosper Henry on November 5, 1872, and is believed to be named after Joan of Arc. It is classified as a CX-type asteroid, indicating the spectrum shows properties of both a carbonacious C-type asteroid and a metallic X-type asteroid.
A photoelectric study was performed of this minor planet in 1991 at the Konkoly Observatory in Hungary. The resulting light curve showed a synodic rotation period of 6.94 ± 0.29 hours with a brightness variation of 0.2 in magnitude. It was estimated to have an absolute magnitude of 8.459 ± 0.013 with a diameter of 96–118 km and an albedo of 0.06–0.04.
Infrared observations made in 1982 at Konkoly showed a rapid variation that seemed to suggest a shorter rotation period of 1.5 hours; one of the fastest known at the time. However, an irregular shape was suggested as an alternative cause of the rapid variation. The present day established rotation period of this object is 12.7988 hours.
During 2001, 127 Johanna was observed by radar from the Arecibo Observatory. The return signal matched an effective diameter of 117 ± 21 km.[5] A larger diameter value of 123.41 ± 4.07 km was obtained from the Midcourse Space Experiment observations, with an albedo of 0.0557 ± 0.0039. A 2012 study gave a refined diameter estimate of 116.14 ± 3.93 km.>