Chasseur à pied, Statue of a chasseur à pied at the Redoute de Gravelle, Bois de Vincennes, Paris, France
This limestone sculpture shows a French foot soldier in full military dress standing at attention. The figure is located in the southeastern section of the forest, positioned against the wall of a historic fortification.
Auguste Arnaud was commissioned to carve the Chasseur à pied for the first pont de l'Alma, built in Paris between 1854 and 1856, where it stood on the upstream pile nearest the left bank. When that bridge was completely replaced between 1970 and 1974, the new structure kept only one pile, so the statue was moved to the wall of the Redoute de Gravelle in the Bois de Vincennes.
The statue depicts a chasseur à pied, a light infantryman of the French army, wearing the 19th-century uniform with a pleated tunic, cape and rifle. The figure was one of four regiments of the Crimean War represented on the first Alma Bridge. A mosaic by the street artist Invader, numbered PA_269, is set into the stones at the upper right of the background.
The statue sits in the southeastern section of the forest and is easy to find if you follow the pathways near the fortification. Visit on clear days when you can see the carved details clearly.
On the stones behind the statue, upper right, French street artist Invader placed one of his mosaic figures, numbered PA_269. The small pixel-style piece sits above the carved background, easy to miss when looking only at the soldier.
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