Reines de France et Femmes illustres

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The Queens of France and Famous Women (Reines de France et Femmes illustres) is a group of sculptures in the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris. It consists of 20 marble sculptures arranged around a large pond in front of the Palais du Luxembourg. Louis-Philippe I chose the women to be portrayed and most of the sculptures were commissioned around 1843, for around 12,000 francs each, and generally exhibited in the Paris Salons of 1847 or 1848. [1]

The series originally included an 1852 statue of Joan of Arc by François Rude, which was moved to the Louvre in 1872 because it was considered too fragile to remain outdoors. The French government commissioned a substitute of Margaret of Anjou for 7,000 francs from Taluet, who completed it in 1877. It was exhibited at the 1895 Salon.

Clockwise starting at the northeast, the figures are:

Disposition
nothumb Queens of France - Luxembourg.jpg
nothumb
NameImageinscriptionSculptor
Saint Balthild
(c.630-680)
Regent of France
Luxembourg - Sainte Bathilde.jpg Plaque Sainte-Bathilde.JPG Victor Thérasse
1848
Bertrada
(720-783)
queen of France
Luxembourg - Berthe ou Bertrade.jpg Plaque Berthe.JPG Eugène Oudiné
1848
Matilda
(c.1031-1083)
Duchess of Normandy
Mathilde de Flandre.JPG Plaque Mathilde de Flandre.JPG Jean-Jacques Elshoecht
1848
Saint Genevieve
(423-512)
Patron saint of Paris
Sainte Genevieve.JPG Plaque de Sainte Genevieve.JPG Michel-Louis Victor Mercier
1845
Mary Stuart
(1542–1587)
queen of France
Marie Stuart.JPG Plaque de Marie Stuart.JPG Jean-Jacques Feuchère
1846
Jeanne d'Albret
(1528–1572)
Queen of Navarre
Jeanne d'Albret JdL.JPG Plaque de Jeanne d'Albret.JPG Jean-Louis Brian
1848
Clémence Isaure Clemence Isaure JdL.JPG Plaque de Clemence Isaure.JPG Antoine-Augustin Préault
1848
Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans
(1627–1693)
Duchesse de Montpensier
Anne-Marie Louise d'Orleans.JPG Plaque d'Anne-Marie Louise d'Orleans.JPG Camille Demesmay
1848
Louise of Savoy
(1476–1531)
Regent of France
Louise de Savoie JdL.JPG Plaque de Louise de Savoie.JPG Auguste Clésinger
1851
Margaret of Anjou (1429–1482)
Queen of England
with her son Edward
Marguerite d'Anjou.JPG Plaque de Marguerite d'Anjou.JPG Ferdinand Taluet
1877
Laure de Noves
(1307–1348)
Laure de Noves JdL.JPG Plaque de Laure de Noves.JPG Auguste Ottin
1848
Marie de Médicis
(1573–1642)
queen of France
Marie de Medicis JdL.JPG Plaque de Marie de Medicis.JPG Louis-Denis Caillouette
1847
Marguerite d'Angoulême
(1492–1549)
Queen of Navarre
Marguerite d'Angouleme.JPG Plaque de Marguerite d'Angouleme.JPG Joseph-Stanislas Lescorné
1848
Valentina of Milan
(1370–1408)
Duchess of Orléans
Valentine de Milan.JPG Plaque de Valentine de Milan.JPG Victor Huguenin
1846
Anne of France
(1460–1522)
Regent of France
Anne de Beaujeu.JPG Plaque d'Anne de Beaujeu.JPG Jacques-Édouard Gatteaux
1847
Blanche of Castile
(1188–1252)
queen of France
Blanche de Castille.JPG Plaque de Blanche de Castille.JPG Auguste Dumont
1848 [2]
Anne of Austria
(1601–1666)
queen of France
Anne d'Autriche.JPG Plaque d'Anne d'Autriche.JPG Joseph-Marius Ramus
1847
Anne of Brittany
(1477–1514)
queen of France
Anne de Bretagne.JPG Plaque d'Anne de Bretagne.JPG Jean-Baptiste Joseph Debay
1846
Margaret of Provence
(1219–1295)
queen of France
Marguerite de Provence.JPG Plaque de Marguerite de Provence.JPG Honoré Husson
1847
Saint Clotilde
(465-545)
queen of France
Sainte Clothilde.JPG Plaque de Sainte Clothilde.JPG Jean-Baptiste-Jules Klagmann
1847

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References

  1. Reines de France et Femmes illustres on the French Senate site.
  2. Although dated 1850.