Minerve à la chouette, Ancient statue in Jardin du Luxembourg, France

Minerve à la chouette is a marble statue in the Jardin du Luxembourg, carved in the 17th century and placed among the garden's sculptures. It shows the Roman goddess Minerva standing with an owl at her side, the bird of wisdom. The figure is rendered in classical drapery, and the owl sits close to her feet.

The statue is a 17th-century work, not a medieval one. It was carved for the Jardin du Luxembourg, laid out from 1612 at the initiative of Marie de Médicis, widow of Henri IV, around her Luxembourg Palace. The figure of Minerva with her owl belongs to the garden's early decorative programme of classical subjects.

The statue is one of a series of queens and women of antiquity commissioned for the Jardin du Luxembourg by King Louis-Philippe in the 1840s. Minerve, carved in marble, stands on a stone pedestal among the garden's tree-lined walks, and her owl is the attribute visitors most often seek out.

The sculpture is located in the Jardin du Luxembourg in the 6th arrondissement and is freely accessible during garden hours. The site is easily reached on foot and the garden provides ample space for a comfortable visit.

The statue is one of a series of works commissioned in the 17th century for the Jardin du Luxembourg, created under the patronage of Marie de' Medici. It stands among sculptures of French queens and mythological figures that decorate the garden's terraces and walkways.