The French Revolution Centennial - Jeanne d'Arc Equestrian Statue - Portland, OR - Political Revolutions on Waymarking.com

Joan of Arc was a peasant girl, who believed she could save her country, France, from the would-be English conquerors, during the Hundred Years' War. Acting under divine guidance (or so she believed), Joan secured the confidence of Dauphin (later King Charles VII) and led the French army in a momentous victory at Orleans in 1429. Whilst at Charles's coronation at Reims, she was captured by the English and their French collaborators and tried as a witch. Unfortunately Joan was found guilty and promptly burned at the stake. In 1455 a retrial was ordered and the earlier verdict against the peasant girl was overturned. Joan not only became a national heroine but also a legend. On May 16th, 1920 she was canonized by Pope Benedict XV.

The original statue was commissioned by the French government following the defeat of the country in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. It is the only public commission of the State during the period 1870-1914, called the Golden Age of statuary in Paris. The sculptor Emmanuel Fremiet, took as his model Aimee Girod, a young Lorraine, and was inaugurated in 1874. The pedestal was designed by the architect Paul Abadie. Another version of the statue was carried out in 1889, by Fremiet for the city of Nancy, on Lafayette Square. The horse was reduced in size in 1899, replacing the horse in Paris by the Nancy version, causing some controversy.

Regarding this particular casting: Oregonian 24 Feb 1924: "Dr. Coe To Give City Joan of Arc Statue"

PARIS, Feb 22--A full-sized replica in bronze of the most celebrated of all the statues of Jeanne d'Arc is to be placed in one of the public squares of Portland as the gift of Dr. Henry Waldo Coe. "This announcement was made today by Dr. Coe after he had completed arrangements for the casting of the statue, which is to be ready for shipment in four months. The statue is that by Emmanuel Fremiet, noted French sculptor of 50 years ago. It stands at the Place de Rivoli, off the Rue de Rivoli, just opposite the gardens of the Tuilleries. Every American tourist who has been to Paris and has an eye for art knows the statue, for not only is it one of the most celebrated of the hundreds of public statues in Paris, but it is placed in the heart of the fashionable hotel district where Americans and other foreigners gather. The statue is to be cast from the original moulds by Barbedlenne, a noted establishment which holds reproduction rights to all Fremiet's statues. It will be shipped through the canal to Portland and should reach the Rose City within six months at the most. The gift of Dr. Coe is in addition to the other three statues--one of Lincoln, one of Washington, and one of Dr. John McLaughlin--which he will give the city, as announced by him upon his departure from Portland for his European trip.
"I would like to see Portland become the city of bronzes as well as the city of roses, and I am hoping that, in making these gifts, I may be taking an early step in this direction which others will follow. I am glad that some other Portland citizens have already aided in this move.
Dr. Coe said he would leave the question of a site for the statue to the City to decide. The statue, showing Joan of Arc seated on a charger and raising a standard aloft is 10 feet high from the hoofs of the horse to tho helmet of its rider. It is marked by its spirituality, by the eloquence of its lines, by the suggestion or Intent force and power than by massive proportions.
For this reason some of the art authorities whom Dr. Coe has consulted in Paris suggest that it be placed in a comparatively small space, just as the Paris statue is placed in the little corner off the Rue de Rivoli. Much of its beauty would be lost in the open spaces of a park, they declare.
It was after careful consideration and consultation that Dr. Coe decided upon the statue by Fremiet. Among those who guided this choice was Miss Waggoner, who is thoroughly familiar with the art of Paris. There are now in America one replica of the Fremiet statue and one of the Dubois statue. One of these is in New York on Riverside drive, the gift of the French people of New York, and the other in Washington, the gift of the French people in America. The history of the Fremiet statue is coincident with the history of the third French republic. It was offered to the city of Paris by Fremiet in one of the darkest hours of his country, as a symbol of hope for future glory and greatness.
From 1868 to 1870, while France was suffering defeat and humiliation at the hands of the Germans at Sedan and Metz and the city of Paris was being swept by flames plied by the revolutionary communes, Fremiet, in a secluded studio, was engaged in a labor of love--the work of moulding his Joan of Arc.

Name of the revolution that the waymark is related to: French Revolution Adress of the monument: NE Cesar E Chavez and Glisan (Coe Circle) Portland, OR USA 97232 What was the role of this site in revolution?: 19-year-old Joan was burned at stake after being captured by the English during a battle in the Hundred Years War. When was this memorial placed?: 05/30/1925 Who placed this monument?: Henry Waldo Coe Link that comprove that role: Not listed

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