Walking around the Place Saint-Anne in the small village of Nohant-Vic, once the summer residence of George Sand, where the Polish composer Frédéric Chopin used to visit, you may come across a statue of him. Connoisseurs will recognise in the bronze bust a reflection of the prototype created by the French sculptor Jean-Pierre Dantan in 1841, a plaster copy of which can be admired in the Musée Carnavalet in Paris, among other places.

The Chopin bust, presented in Nohant-Vic on a high pedestal, was cast in bronze in 2010, commissioned by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage on the occasion of the Chopin Year celebrations. The bronze cast was based on an image of the composer chiseled by Polish artist Adam Roman (1916-2013), who created a copy of a plaster sculpture of Dantan after the Second World War. Bronze copies based on Roman's work from the University of Warsaw collection were donated by Polish authorities to diplomatic missions and cultural institutions around the world. In addition to Nohant-Vic, they can also be admired in Caracas, New Delhi and Tokyo, among others.

The inauguration of the monument in Nohant-Vic took place on 12 November 2010. The gift of the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage to the town had a symbolic meaning - Chopin stayed in Nohant-Vic seven times between 1839 and 1846, spending time at the residence of his beloved, George Sand, among other places, composing music. It was here that he wrote the Sonata in B flat minor, Op. 35 (with the famous Funeral March) to his last nocturnes.

Today, Sand's residence in Nohant-Vic houses a museum, and the composer's beloved is buried in the nearby cemetery. To commemorate Chopin and Sand's stays in the village, a Romantic music festival is organised every summer.

Description of the bust

A realistic likeness of Chopin with a serious countenance, inscribed 'CHOPIN', signed 'w/g Dantana Roman A'.

The author of the original portrait of Chopin was the French sculptor Jean-Pierre Dantan (1800-1869), who gained recognition as the author of noble or caricature busts of well-known figures from the world of art and politics. The busts made by the artist were mainly created for commercial purposes. They were available in various sizes and materials (plaster, bronze) for a relatively low price from a company run by the artist under the name Dantanorama. Dantan's mature oeuvre came in the 19th century. - the so-called Statuomania period in France, characterised by the extraordinary popularity of official monuments in tribute to outstanding individuals erected in urban spaces. Informal, mass-produced busts were the counterpoint to official sculptural activity.