Édouard Branly, Bronze sculpture in Jardin du Luxembourg, France.
Édouard Branly is a bronze bust of the physicist on a tall concrete pedestal in the Jardin du Luxembourg. The pedestal was carved directly by Charles Sarrabezolles using a technique he developed at the Villemomble campanile, giving the base a rough, hand-worked surface.
The sculpture was created in 1962 by Charles Marie Louis Joseph Sarrabezolles to commemorate the physicist's contributions to radio technology. The monument emerged during a period when France celebrated its scientific accomplishments through public artworks.
Branly gave his name to the Laboratoire de radioélectricité at the Institut catholique, and the monument stands among the garden's statues of scientists and writers. Visitors often pass it on the path near the Palais du Luxembourg without noticing the physicist's portrait.
The sculpture is accessible through multiple garden entrances and sits in an easy-to-find location. The nearest Metro stations are Luxembourg and Notre-Dame-des-Champs, both within walking distance.
Sarrabezolles cut the pedestal directly in concrete rather than carving stone, a technique he had tested on the Villemomble campanile. The Branly monument lets visitors see that method applied to a portrait base in the Jardin du Luxembourg.
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