Junon, reine du ciel, Marble sculpture in Jardin du Luxembourg, France

Junon, reine du ciel is a marble statue in the Luxembourg Gardens that shows the Roman goddess in classical form. The work stands in a section of the gardens dedicated to recreating works inspired by ancient art.

The marble Juno belongs to the series of statues installed in the Luxembourg Gardens under Napoleon III, when the garden was redesigned by Jean-Charles Alphand and the sculptor Auguste Ottin was commissioned for its decoration. The figure follows Roman models of the goddess, a practice rooted in the 17th-century garden tradition of casting and copying antique sculpture for French royal gardens.

The statue takes its name from Juno, the Roman counterpart of the Greek Hera, wife of Jupiter and guardian of marriage. In the Luxembourg Gardens it stands within the series of copies after antique sculpture commissioned in the 19th century, so visitors meet a Roman goddess in a French royal garden setting.

Access to the statue comes through the regular entrances of the Luxembourg Gardens and requires exploring the marked areas. It helps to visit early in the day to see the works in peace, especially during good weather.

The marble Juno is a copy after an antique model, one of the works placed in the gardens as part of the 19th-century programme of statues inspired by antiquity. Look at the surface: the copy reproduces the pose and drapery of the model rather than carving from life, which is why the folds and the goddess's attributes follow a fixed ancient type.