Théodore de Banville, Marble bust in the Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris, France
The Théodore de Banville monument is a marble bust by Jules Roulleau set on a pedestal in the Jardin du Luxembourg, along the rue de Médicis. The bust shows the poet bare-chested with a drape over one shoulder, head turned slightly upward. The pedestal, in Ionic style, bears the dates 1823-1891 and his name, with a bronze lyre and laurel branch below.
After the poet's death in 1891, a monument was commissioned for the Luxembourg Gardens along the rue de Médicis. Jules Roulleau received the commission after the committee in Banville's native Moulins chose a Mr. Coulon instead. The work was inaugurated on 27 November 1892. In 1923, for the centenary of Banville's birth, critic Robert de Flers gave a speech before the monument.
The sculpture represents the French tradition of honoring literary figures through public art, positioned among numerous monuments in the Luxembourg Gardens.
The monument sits on the eastern side of the garden near the Fontaine Medicis and is accessible during garden hours. Visitors can explore the area on foot and view the sculpture from multiple vantage points.
Architect Octave Courtois-Suffit, recipient of the Grand Prix de Rome, designed this memorial structure that combines both marble and bronze elements.
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