France, Bronze statue at Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France

The bronze statue France stands at the Palais de Tokyo entrance and depicts a monumental female figure representing the French nation. The work combines classical references with more modern sculptural language from the mid-twentieth century.

Antoine Bourdelle modelled France in 1922, and the bronze was cast in 1930, a year after his death; the plaster original entered the Musée Bourdelle. The figure was placed at the entrance of the Palais de Tokyo, built for the 1937 Exposition internationale. Bourdelle, a former assistant to Rodin, taught Giacometti and Henri Matisse among others.

Bourdelle modelled France as a draped female figure with a broad, calm face and heavy folds, a type he had developed for the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées reliefs. The statue was placed at the Palais de Tokyo, whose 1937 extension gave the entrance its present form. Visitors can compare its archaic severity with the museum's Art Deco architecture.

The sculpture sits directly at the Palais de Tokyo entrance and is easy to view from outside without entering the museum. The nearest metro stations Iéna and Trocadéro are just a short walk away.

Bourdelle died in 1929, so the bronze at the Palais de Tokyo entrance is a posthumous cast of a figure he modelled; the monument was installed in 1948. Look for the founder's mark stamped on the base, which identifies the foundry that cast it.