La Marseillaise (Le Départ des Volontaires)

Arc de Triomphe
Paris, France

"Created by François Rude between 1833 and 1836, this sculpted group illustrates an essential event in revolutionary history: the conscription of 1792, when nearly 200,000 men ordered by the Legislative Assembly organized the defense of France in the face of foreign armies aligned against the revolutionaries.

The sculptor chose a totally allegorical vision of this national union. He does not use period costumes or weapons contemporary with the Revolution. The use of the romantic style seeks to reach an universal dimension and to symbolise the struggle of a people, whichever it is, to defend what belongs to them.

The high relief represents the Génie de la Liberté in the form of a winged woman crying out in the face of enemy invasion. She invites the people to fight by brandishing her sword.

Underneath this figure, a bearded warrior with a cuirass is dragging a naked young man by the shoulder, while waving his helmet as a sign of departure and rallying. He seems to remain deaf to the advice that an old bearded man, placed in the background, seems to give him."

www.paris-arc-de-triomphe.fr/en/discover/the-sculpted-groups



AP1089548