- CountryUS
- Town:OR Portland
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Year of creation:1924
- Rider(s):Jeanne d'Arc
(c.1412–1431), with her alias The Maid of Orléans, is a national heroine of France as well as a Catholic saint. Born a peasant girl in eastern France, she asserted that she had visions from God instructing her to free her country from English domination. The dauphin Charles sent her to the siege of Orléans as part of a relief mission. She gained prominence when she overcame the sceptical attitude of veteran commanders and lifted the siege in only nine days. She then led the French army to several important victories, which paved the way for the coronation of Charles VII in Reims, thus settling the disputed succession to the throne.
The Burgundians captured Jeanne d’Arc a few months later and sold her to the English. An ecclesiastical court tried her, with the result that she was burned at the stake, at only 19 years old. Twenty-five years after the execution, pope Callixtus III examined the trial, pronounced her innocent and declared her a martyr. She was canonized in 1920 and is one of the patron saints of France.
- Sculptor(s):Frémiet, Emmanuel
(1824–1910) devoted himself right from the start to being a sculptor of animals; an animalier. He is famous for his equestrian statue of Jeanne d’Arc. He completed the first one in 1874 and replaced it with a better version in 1889. There are few equestrian statues that are as frequently copied as this one.
- Original in:Paris, France
This copy of Emmanuel Frémiet’s equestrian statue of Jeanne d’Arc was donated to the city of Portland by Henry Waldo Coe, who saw Frémiet’s original statue in Paris. Portland’s copy arrived from France in 1924 and was dedicated on Memorial Day in 1925 in honor of the Doughboys of World War
Over the years the gold leaf that brilliantly dawned the statue slowly deteriorated until there was no trace of its luster. In 2002, through the fundraising efforts and after receiving a grant for $24,000, the city of Portland was able to have the statue restored the statue to its former glory. The pennant flag held in Joan’s right hand and the laurel wreath on her head were replaced and the gold leaf was restored.
Photo by Steve Morgan
See original.
