The Third French Republic was formed after Napoleon was captured by the Prussians. Paris was under seige and cut off from the rest of France. After the French surrendered and accepted the Prussian terms, elections were held for a new National Assembly. This Republic held until 1940. Read more about it at (
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Just nine years after its formation, a competition was held for plans to honor the formation of the Republic. It was won by brothers Charles and Léopold Morice...who completed a gypsum model that was unveiled in June 1880! This bronze completed work was inaugurated July 14, 1883. Beyond the main character, a woman, now known as Marianne, the monument has many beautiful reliefs around the base with scenes from the formation of the Republic...as well as other sculptures...a lion and additional women (seated)...but clearly representing victory. The work is located at Place de la République which is a square in Paris on the border between the 3rd, 10th and 11th arrondissements.
This website (
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"As hinted in its name, the République Statue has a close connection to the forming of the French Republic. The République Statue depicts a lady in heavy clothing, holding a branch in her hand.
This lady is actually one of the major French symbols and her name is Marianne. She can be found, not only on this square, but in many different places such as on postal stamps and on the French euro coins. She represents France as a state and its values.
Symbolism
So why has this lady become a symbol of France and the republic? Well during the Greek and Roman era, it was common to represent ideas and abstract entities by either a god or a goddess. This became less popular during the Middle Ages, but returned again during the Renaissance.
During the French revolution in 1789, liberty was obviously on the agenda. Instead of representing liberty by a god or goddess, liberty became represented by an ordinary woman, standing up for her rights. She was often accompanied by various other French symbols, such as the Phrygian cap, a cockerel or the tricolor cockade.
Marianne
Why was the symbol a female and not a man? The most obvious reason was that in French - as in many other languages - many words have a determined gender connected to them. Liberty, together with for example justice and the republic itself, is seen as a feminine word and they are all represented with female figures.
The origin of the name Marianne has long been debated and there are many suggestions as to where the name comes from. One of the most obvious ones is that since Marianne was a very common name during the time, and since she was a symbol for freedom of the common people, the name proved suiting.
Marianne's two sides
In general, Marianne is pictured in two ways. Sometimes she can be seen fighting victoriously, often with a bare breast, wearing the Phrygian cap and some other French symbol. An example of this is in the classical painting “Liberty leading the people” in honor of the July Revolution, where she can be seen standing on a pile of bodies, hold the French flag while encouraging the people forward.
The other way Marianne is pictured is more conservative. Here she is often rather quite, wears antiquity clothes which covers her chest and often carries a wreath of wheat on her head. As visitors can see, the République statue depicts Marianne in the latter, more covered up way."