Ludwig van Beethoven, Bronze sculpture in Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris, France

The Beethoven monument in Jardin du Luxembourg is a bronze sculpture created by artist Antoine Bourdelle, showing the composer in a reflective pose positioned on a marble base. The work sits within one of Paris's largest gardens surrounded by pathways and planted areas.

Antoine Bourdelle modelled his Beethoven monument in 1902, a plaster version of which was shown at the Paris Salon that year. The bronze cast now in the Jardin du Luxembourg was installed in 1978, the 150th anniversary of Beethoven's death, and was donated by Bourdelle's daughter Rhodia Dufet-Bourdelle.

Bourdelle worked on Beethoven's likeness for decades; this late bronze was placed in the Jardin du Luxembourg in 1978, the 150th anniversary of the composer's death in 1827. The gift came from his daughter Rhodia Bourdelle, and the statue is one of several Beethoven pieces by the sculptor, who kept a plaster study in his studio.

The bronze stands in the Jardin du Luxembourg, in the 6th arrondissement, close to the Rue de Vaugirard side. The garden's gates open at dawn and close at dusk, varying by season. The statue is on open ground among the garden's paths and can be approached freely.

Bourdelle worked on Beethoven's likeness for decades, producing numerous busts and studies; the Luxembourg version is a late cast placed in 1978, the 150th anniversary of the composer's death in 1827. The sculptor died in 1929, so the garden installation came about half a century after his own death, not from his daughter's donation.