Statues Of Liberty

Should the title of this post be Statues of Liberty? Or Statue of Libertys? It's certainly not Statue of Liberties, is it? I'm going with my first impulse here: Statues of Liberty it is!

I love the Statue of Liberty. I love it as a symbol of the United States of America and New York City. I love it as a beacon of hope for immigrants flocking to our shores in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. I love how Lady Liberty is raising a torch to light her way through the darkness while stepping out of broken shackles that used to confine her (this is admittedly impossible to see when visiting as a tourist). I love how strong and fearless and uncompromising her face is to all that would doubt or question her ability to exist or triumph. And I actually love the fact that at one time, nations (in this case, France) were giving other nations 150 foot high statues that they expected the recipient to place somewhere nice. Good thing it's attractive!

If you want to see the real deal and have never been over to Liberty Island to see the Statue in person, get yourself to New York, grab a ferry from Battery Park (or you could go from Jersey, I guess) and spend a half day or more over at Liberty Island. If you've already seen it but have never made it to the crown, plan ahead and get a ticket to get you to the highest point you can go to today; it's worth it. Heck, even if you've been to the crown, go again. But if you've done all that and still love the Statue and want more Statue of Liberty-ness, go across the Atlantic Ocean to Paris. Yep, that's right, Paris. In New York, you can see one Statue of Liberty; in Paris you get more than five.

Before the Statue of Liberty made its way across the Atlantic and got deposited for good in New York harbor, it was in Paris. From the time it was conceived as an idea by Édouard de Laboulaye in 1865 to Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi's initial sketches and models to Gustave Eiffel's structural engineering of the Statue to the moment it was disassembled from its full built form in 1885 and placed on a ship to New York, everything significant that shaped the Statue's ideals and design happened in or near Paris. So it stands to reason that the Statue exists there today, at least in some form, right? Want to be a Statue of Liberty complete-ist in the capital of France? Here's where you need to go.

Musée des Arts et Métiers, 3e Arrondissement

Any discussion of visits to Statues of Liberty in Paris has to start at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, which is essentially the engineering museum in the city. Why? Because inside there's one that Bartholdi himself touched. And it's one of only two on display in Paris that you can say that about. This one is older than the other which makes this one the most important in the city.

What you'll find buried inside the museum (and I mean waaaay inside the museum) is a 1/16 scale plaster model of the Statue that Bartholdi himself sculpted in 1878. This one had the master's hands on it before the actual Statue was created and so has a special place in the canon of Statues in Paris. Bartholdi's widow donated the model to the museum in 1907, three years after her husband's death. This is the genuine article that the sculptor himself used to make the final version which stands in New York. This thing is legit. It has to be considered the most important of the five plus you will find in the city.

You can see this Statue by ponying up the 8 Euros admission to the museum. If you don't want to do that and you haven't picked yourself up a Paris Museum Pass (do it; it's totally worth it), you can settle for checking out the same size bronze replica in the courtyard right outside the main entrance to the museum. This version was cast from Bartholdi's model in about 2010 by the Fonderie Susse, a foundry established in 1758 which specializes in such castings; they were around a long time before Lady Liberty was even conceived which alone is impressive. There were 12 castings made from the original around the turn of the 2010s; the museum got theirs for free in exchange for letting its creator sell the other 11 for a cool $1.1 million apiece!! 

Note: The photograph at the top of this post is the 2010 version sitting outside the Museum. 

Île aux Cygnes, 15e Arrondissement

What do you get as a gift for someone (or some country) who has everything? How about the exact same thing they gave you about four years earlier only about 1/4 of the size? Sounds good! Meet the Statue of Liberty on the Île aux Cygnes in the middle of the Seine.

So maybe my language in the last paragraph above is a little misleading. This version of the Statue, which is the biggest full version you can find in Paris, wasn't a gift from the United States to France. But it WAS commissioned by the American community in Paris in 1889 and presented to the French on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the French Revolution. You give us a statue on our 100th birthday? We're going to give you the exact same thing back on your 100th birthday. Original, no?

It's a long walk over to Île aux Cygnes from the nearest Metro station but for the avid Statue aficiondo, it's a must see. It should be pointed out there are a couple of differences between this replica and Bartholdi's original. First, the pedestal is obviously way different. The one in Paris is much simpler than the neoclassical indulgence that Richard Morris Hunt cobbled together for New York. Secondly, the inscription on the tablet in Lady Liberty's left arm is different. Instead of reading "JULY IV MDCCLXXVI" in copper, it reads "IV JULLIET 1776" (Julliet is French for July) and "XIV JULLIET 1789" in some sort of gold color. July 14, 1789 is the day the notorious prison the Bastille was stormed during the French Revolution. You'll see the first difference from afar; you have to get close to see the second.

This is the biggest Statue of Liberty you'll find in Paris. Hopefully it's sunny when you go. I'm sure it photographs way better on an uncloudy day.

Musée d'Orsay, 7e Arrondissement

Slightly younger than the 1889 Île aux Cygnes version but definitely second on the importance meter of Statues of Liberty in Paris? The one in the main hall of the Musée d'Orsay on the south bank of the Seine. The Musée d'Orsay occupies the former Gare (or railway station) d'Orsay built between 1898 and 1900. It was converted into a museum in the 1970s after it was determined the best course of action for the station was to knock it down. Thank God they didn't.

Why is the one inside this museum so important? Well, plain and simple, it's the only other one that Bartholdi made that you can still find on display in Paris. This one was created by Bartholdi for the Exposition Universelle, a kind of world's fair held in Paris in 1900. It didn't originally stand in the Musée d'Orsay (since it wouldn't be a museum for about 80 years after Bartholdi knocked this one out) but instead was placed outside the museum in the Jardin du Luxembourg. It was moved to the main hall of the Musée d'Orsay in 2012 because it had started to show the effects of over 100 years of steadily more acidic rain and exposure to other sorts of elements.

Want to get a look at this version? 12 Euros, please. Unless you spring for a Paris Museum Pass. Again, totally worth it. Again, do it!!!

Place de l'Alma, 8e Arrondissement (Flamme de la Liberté)

Wonder why I've been using the terms "more than five" or "five plus" in this post? Here's why: there's a partial Statue of Liberty in the city of lights. 

After Bartholdi created his 1900 mini Statue for the Exposition Universelle, things quietened down on the Statue of Liberty front in Paris. I suppose two world wars that took place very definitely in France had a lot to do with that in the first half of the 20th century. But then in 1989 we saw yet another version of the Statue crop up. This partial version is an exact full size replica of the flame (not the torch, just the flame) held aloft by Lady Liberty in New York's harbor. It was presented to the city of Paris by the International Herald Tribune to commemorate the newspaper's 100th year of existence.

Two editorial comments on this one. First, what a self-indulgent gesture. I mean I get that 100 years of publication is an amazing feat and good for them. But donating a statue to a city and asking them to put it somewhere prominent? What's up with that? Secondly, what's the story with groups giving Statues of Liberty or partial Statues to Paris? There has to be a more original gift. 

The Flamme de la Liberté sits on the Place d'Alma on the north bank of the Seine within sight of the Eiffel Tower. Unfortunately after it was placed there, something happened to make the site famous; and not something good. The flame sits right on top of the tunnel where Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales was killed whilst trying to escape paparazzi pursuing her for a scoop of some sort. The monument is thus now a celebration of the International Herald Tribune and a memorial to Diana. The site is now covered with mementos and notes to her.

Jardin du Luxembourg, 6e Arrondissement

Remember the Jardin du Luxembourg, the original location of the 1900 Bartholdi replica of the Statue? You should because this post isn't that long, quite frankly. Well, when it got relocated to the Musée d'Orsay, the Park got a new one and this is the newest publicly displayed Statue of Liberty in the City.

Just four years old as of this writing (so erected in 2012), this is an exact replica of the Bartholdi 1900 version. It sits towards the western edge of the Park just north of the pétanque courts near the park's southwest corner. I would think this version would photograph beautifully in the morning light since it faces east. We went in the afternoon.

This is not an exact replica of the one in New York. The inscription on the tablet clearly reads, "13 de Novembre 1889." Not sure I completely understand this one. Any help out there?

I'm pretty confident we visited way more Statues of Liberty this past September in Paris than most people can stand. But if you want to do them all, your roadmap is above. And if not, if you maybe want to visit one or two, or even just want to wow whomever you happen to be with when you see one of the five plus over there in France, now you have the skinny to impress.

As if it weren't obvious or I haven't stated it point blank in this blog enough, I love the Statue of Liberty. My love was re-kindled just a bit in France last month. I won't do this tour again, but if I'm close by one of these, I'll swing by to gaze at Lady Liberty for a few minutes before moving on. Happy hunting, Statue fans!!