La Convention Nationale
La Convention Nationale fills the apse of the Panthéon in Paris, on the spot where an altar once stood. The sculpture gathers the French Revolution around Marianne, the Republic made visible. She rises above the inscription 'Vivre libre ou mourir', which means live free or die.
François-Léon Sicard spent nearly four years on the group before its unveiling in 1911. The piece began as a plan for the Tuileries Gardens, but the apse claimed it instead. It measures over six metres in height, nearly ten in length. Around Marianne, the other figures wear the clothing of their day and hold dynamic poses. On one side, deputies take an oath together. On the other, General Hoche sits on horseback among republican soldiers.
Sicard matched the group's height to the building, so the view behind stays open. Look past Marianne and you catch La Gloire, the work by Detaille, right behind her. Symbolism and realism meet in one composition, carrying the ideals of the Third Republic: patriotism, honour and freedom.
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