Le Triomphe de 1810, Memorial statue in Paris 16e Arrondissement, France
Le Triomphe de 1810 is a stone relief on the upper section of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It shows Napoleon dressed as a Roman emperor, a winged figure blowing a trumpet, soldiers, and symbolic figures carved across the full width of the panel.
Jean-Pierre Cortot made this work in the early 1830s as part of a group of four large reliefs for the arch. It was intended to recall Napoleon’s power around 1810, a period already far enough in the past to be reshaped into formal public art.
Visitors often trace with their fingers the forward lean of the soldiers and the curve of the winged trumpet player as a way to feel the rhythm of the carving. The panel reads from left to right, ending with a kneeling city figure who lowers her head toward Napoleon’s feet.
You see this relief best from the terrace of the Arc de Triomphe, where the facing stone is easier to examine than from the street below. Stand back a few steps from the railing so the full width of the carved panel comes into view without straining your neck.
Few people notice the palm frond in the background, a direct sign of Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign tucked behind the main figures. The stone also changes color through the day, shifting from pale gray in morning to a warmer tone after noon.
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