Marceau statue in Chartres, Bronze monument in Place des Epars, Chartres, France
The Marceau statue is a 3-metre bronze figure on Place des Épars in Chartres, showing General François Séverin Marceau with shoulder-length wavy hair, a moustache, a high-collared jacket with braid rows, a knotted cravat and a wide sash, his right hand on a draped cloak and a curved sword at his left side. Auguste Préault made the bronze in 1851 and Jean-Baptiste Antoine Lassus designed the pedestal.
The monument was unveiled in 1851 and honors a general who fought in the late 18th-century wars and died in 1796. Its creation came roughly 55 years after his death, showing how the French nation chose to commemorate this moment in its military past.
Marceau was born in Chartres in 1769, and the city keeps his memory in the name of the square where the statue stands. The monument was listed as a historic monument in 2017, the year the square was redesigned and the figure moved to the mouth of the rue du Grand-Faubourg.
The statue is located on a busy square near several streets and is easily accessible on foot. Visitors should explore the area during daylight hours when the surroundings are most visible.
The pedestal holds a cavity containing part of General Marceau's ashes, placed there when the monument was made. Two inscriptions are cut into the outside: "À MARCEAU" on the front and "ÉRIGÉ LE 21 SEPTEMBRE 1951" on the back. The date does not match the 1851 unveiling, a discrepancy visitors can spot on the stone itself.
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