Monument to Alfred de Musset, Marble statue in Parc Monceau, France

The monument to Alfred de Musset is a marble statue in Parc Monceau that shows the French poet sitting while a female figure leans over his right shoulder. The composition depicts two figures in close connection, representing the relationship between the artist and his creative force.

Antonin Mercié's marble monument to Alfred de Musset was inaugurated in 1906 near the Comédie-Française, the theatre linked to the poet's plays. It was relocated to Parc Monceau in 1981, where it now stands along the Allée de la Comtesse-de-Ségur.

The monument depicts a scene from The Night of May, a poem where a suffering poet speaks with Poetry personified as a muse figure. The representation of a woman leaning over the seated man shows how artists of that era viewed inspiration as something external that comes to them.

The statue is located along the Allée de la Comtesse-de-Ségur within Parc Monceau and can be reached through several gated entrances in the 8th arrondissement. The park itself is easy to navigate with multiple pathways leading to the monument.

The muse's missing right hand and forearm are not the only loss: the monument left the Comédie-Française in 1981, and its Parc Monceau setting places it near the park's other literary monuments. Look at the muse's damaged arm to see the break line in the marble.