FRENCH NATIONAL FIGURE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 76, Issue 108, 10 May 1933, Page 2

FRENCH NATIONAL FIGURE

On revisiting France, people with long memories will note with some interest that the Republic, the somewhat portly feminine figure, whose bust has stood in about 40,000 public buildings all over the country for the last 50 years, has been displaced—and that her successor is a much more attractive young female. “Marianne,” the French equivalent for “Plain Jane,” was the universal nickname bestowed upon the bust, “The Republic,” executed by the sculptor, Injalbcrt. The change was made as the result of a visit last year to the Salon of Interior Decorations by the then Under-Secre-tary for Fine Arts (M. Jean Mistier). There he was greatly impressed by a photograph of a young French girl, an artists’ model, who has been pos ing for a young and hitherto poor and unknown sculptor, M. Pierre Poisson. The latter was immediately commissioned to execute a Dust of her, representing France; it was approved by Parliament, and 40,000 plaster casts arc now being made to replace “Marianne” all over France.