Anne de Beaujeu

Anne de Beaujeu stands on the western terrace of Paris’s Jardin du Luxembourg, overlooking the formal gardens’ grand basin. The marble figure rises 2.3 metres above its base. The sculpture portrays Anne of France within a garden setting devoted to influential women from French history.

Jacques Edouard Gatteaux created the work between 1844 and 1847 for Louis Philippe I’s Queens of France and Famous Women series. Saint-Béat supplied the marble used for the sculpture. Anne, born in 1460 as Louis XI’s eldest daughter, became regent for her younger brother Charles VIII. Her regency followed her father’s death and placed her at the centre of French power. French history associates her political role with ending the Hundred Years’ War.

First exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1847, the sculpture now faces the basin from the western terrace. That viewpoint places the accessible artwork among the garden’s historical figures. The pale marble, formal posture and open garden backdrop connect the material presence with the political life it commemorates.