A monument to the Polish composer Frédéric Chopin can be admired beneath the spreading chestnut trees of the Luxembourg Garden. The object is a post-war construction consisting of the original pedestal, decorated in Art Nouveau style with images of the composer's lyre and Muse, and a second bust of Chopin placed on it, which stood in place of the former cast depicting the musician made by Georges Dubois.

History of the creation of the monument

In 1895, on the initiative of the musicians F.-Henry Peru and Jules Massenet, a committee was formed to build a monument to Fryderyk Chopin in view of the composer's forthcoming 50th anniversary. During discussions on the creation of the monument among the committee members, several locations and artists of realisation were considered. Among the most prominent contenders for a monument commemorating the musician were two French sculptors, François-Désiré Froment-Meurice and Georges Dubois. Given the sum that was raised during a public collection for the monument, it was decided to employ the latter. The inauguration of the work in the Luxembourg Gardens took place on 17 October 1900. Six years later, thanks to the perseverance of the supporters of the Froment-Meurice project, a second Chopin monument was unveiled in the space of the French metropolis in Park Monceau.

Two busts

Unveiled in 1900, the realistic bronze bust of Chopin by Dubois, visible on pre-World War II historical photographs, was removed from its pedestal on 20 March 1942. Under the law of 11 October 1941 and the decree of 16 October 1941, the object was melted down by the Commission départementale de la Seine. At the end of the 20th century, the Polish Government presented the French State with a contemporary replica of the 1872 cast of the bust of Fryderyk Chopin by Bolesław Syrewicz (1835-1899), in order to recreate the original composition of the monument. The ceremony for the re-inauguration of the monument took place on 22 February 1900, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the composer's death.