Place Vendôme is known as one of the chicest squares in Paris, a symbol of luxury thanks to its fashion and jewelry boutiques (not to mention the Ritz hotel). But few people know that this square has another interesting trait: statues simply don’t last there, as sculptor Paul McCarthy learned the hard way. His sculpture, shown in the photos above, was destroyed just a few days after it was installed in the square, because its shape reminded quite a few people of a sex toy.
The history of Place Vendôme
Place Vendôme was designed by one of France’s great architects, Jules Hardouin-Mansart (1646-1708), and opened in 1702. At first the square was called Place des Conquêtes, and when France began losing the War of the Spanish Succession, its name was changed to Place Louis-le-Grand. Finally, when it turned out that Louis was perhaps not so great after all, the name was changed to Place Vendôme, after the illegitimate descendant of King Henri IV (r. 1589-1610) who lived there. When the square was built, a bronze statue of Louis XIV by Girardon was installed there. The statue was considered groundbreaking at the time, since it was the first statue ever cast in a single piece. But about 90 years after it was made, the statue was destroyed during the French Revolution, and all that’s left is a scaled-down copy, on display today at the Louvre Museum.
After the French Revolution, Napoleon rose to power. To open up new traffic routes through the city, he decided to tear down the beautiful monasteries that stood at the square’s northern and southern ends, giving the square its present shape. Following the French victory at the Battle of Austerlitz, it was decided to melt down 1,200 enemy cannons captured by the French and use the bronze to build a column topped with a statue of Napoleon. The column was installed in the square in 1810, and from the very first moment it looked completely out of proportion with the square.
The column in Place Vendôme wasn’t so lucky either
But this column didn’t last long either. When Napoleon was exiled from France and the Bourbon dynasty returned to power, it was decided to melt down the statue of Napoleon that topped the column and use the bronze to cast a new statue of Henri IV, the first king of the Bourbon dynasty. The new statue was installed in the square (they scrapped the column itself). But this statue, too, didn’t last long. After the July Revolution of 1830 broke out, the new king, Louis-Philippe (r. 1830-1848), decided to put the column back up, and to win the people over, topped it with a new statue of Napoleon, dressed in a fashionable frock coat. So what happened to the statue of Henri IV? You can find it in all its glory at Place du Vert-Galant, near the Pont Neuf, where it was given a place of honor.
But anyone who thought the story of the statues of Place Vendôme was over was wrong. In 1851, Napoleon’s nephew became emperor and called himself Napoleon III. As a tribute to his revered uncle, he decided to replace the statue atop the column with a new one, this time depicting Napoleon as a Roman emperor. In 1870, after the Franco-Prussian War, Napoleon III lost power. In 1871, following the peace treaty between France and Germany, a revolt broke out in Paris and the Commune was established. Since the Communards hated anything connected to Napoleon, they decided to destroy the statue standing in Place Vendôme. Overseeing the demolition was the famous painter Gustave Courbet (1819-1877), who took the opportunity to also change the square’s name from Place Vendôme to Place Internationale.
But the Commune’s rule lasted only a few months, and in May 1871 Paris was recaptured by French government forces. Courbet was arrested by the new authorities and spent six months in prison. He was also hit with a huge fine for destroying the statue. He was never able to pay it, so he fled to Switzerland, where he died penniless in 1877. A replica of Napoleon’s statue was restored to its place of honor at the top of the column, and it continues to look out over the square to this very day.
Looking for more attractions in Paris? Click here.
Related reading
