Everything about Marianne totally explained
Marianne, a
national emblem of the
French Republic, is, by extension, a
personification of
Liberty and
Reason. It represents France, as a State, and its values (as opposed to the "
Gallic rooster" representing France as a nation and its history, land and culture). She is displayed in many places in France and holds a place of honour in
town halls and
law courts. She symbolises the "Triumph of the
Republic", a
bronze sculpture overlooking the
Place de la Nation in
Paris. Her profile stands out on the official seal of the country, is engraved on
French euro coins and appears on French
postage stamps; it also was featured on the former
franc currency. Marianne is one of the most prominent
symbols of the
French Republic.
The origins of Marianne, depicted by artist
Honoré Daumier, in 1848, as a mother nursing two children,
Romulus and
Remus, or by sculptor
François Rude, during the
July Monarchy, as an angry warrior voicing the
Marseillaise on the
Arc de Triomphe, are uncertain. In any case, she's become a symbol in France: considered as a personification of the Republic, she was often used on pro-Republican iconography — and heavily caricatured and reviled by anti-Republicans. Although both are common emblems of France, neither Marianne nor the
rooster enjoys official status: the
flag of France, as named and described in Article 2 of the
French constitution, is the only official emblem.
History
In classical times it was common to represent ideas and abstract entities by gods, goddesses and
allegorical personifications. Less common during the
Middle Ages, this practice resurfaced during the
Renaissance. During the
French Revolution of 1789, many allegorical personifications of '
Liberty' and '
Reason' appeared. These two figures finally merged into one: a female figure, shown either sitting or standing, and accompanied by various attributes, including the
cockerel, the tricolor cockade, and the
Phrygian cap. This woman typically symbolised Liberty, Reason, the Nation, the Homeland, the civic virtues of the Republic. (Compare the
Statue of Liberty, created by a French artist, with a copy in both Paris and
Saint-Étienne.)
In September 1792, the
National Convention decided by decree that the new seal of the state would represent a standing woman holding a spear with a Phrygian cap held aloft on top of it.
Why is it a woman and not a man who represents the Republic? One could also find the answer to this question in the traditions and mentality of the French, suggests the historian Maurice Agulhon, who in several well-known works set out on a detailed investigation to discover the origins of Marianne. A feminine allegory was also a manner to symbolise the breaking with the
Ancien Régime headed by men. Even before the French Revolution, the
Kingdom of France was embodied in masculine figures, as depicted in certain ceilings of
Palace of Versailles. Furthermore, the Republic itself is, in French, a feminine noun (
la République)
The Second Empire
Later, during the
Second Empire (1852-1870), this depiction was clandestine and served as a symbol of protest against the regime. The common use of the name "Marianne" for the depiction of the "Liberty" started around 1848/1851, becoming generalised throughout France around 1875.
The Third Republic
The usage began to be more official during the
Third Republic (1870-1940). The
Hôtel de Ville in Paris (city hall) displayed a statue of "Marianne" wearing a Phrygian cap in 1880, and was quickly followed by the other French cities. In Paris, where the
Radicals had a strong presence, a contest was launched for the statue of
Place de la République. It was won by the brothers Moricet, in 1883, with a revolutionary Marianne, with the arm lift towards the sky and a Phrygian cap, but with her breasts covered. For the centenary of the French Revolution, in 1889, another contest was made for the
Place de la Nation, won by
Aimé-Jules Dalou. She had the lictor's fasces, the Phrygian cap, a bare breast, and was accompanied by Labour (a worker representing the
People), Justice, Peace and Education: all what the Republic was supposed to bring to its
citizens. The statue was inaugurated in 1899, in the turmoil of the
Dreyfus Affair, with
Waldeck-Rousseau, a Radical, in power. The ceremony was accompanied by a huge demonstration of workers', with
red flags. The government's officials, wearing black
redingotes, quitted the ceremony. Marianne had been reappropriated by the workers, but as the representative of the Social and
Democratic Republic (
la République démocratique et sociale, or simply
La Sociale).
.
Few Mariannes were depicted in the
First World War memorials, but some living models of Marianne appeared in 1936, during the
Popular Front as they'd during the Second Republic (then stigmatized by the right-wing press as "unashamed prostitutes"). During
World War II, Marianne represented Liberty against the
Nazi invaders, and the Republic against the
Vichy regime (see
Paul Collin's representation). During Vichy, 120 of the 427 monuments of Marianne were melted, while the
Milice took out its statues in town-halls in 1943.
The account made of their exploits by the
Revolutionaries often contained a reference to a certain Marianne (or Marie-Anne) wearing a Phrygian cap. This pretty girl of legend inspired the
sans-culottes, and looked after those wounded in the many battles across the country.
The name of Marianne also appears to be connected with several Republican secret societies. During the
Second Empire, one of them, whose members has sworn to overthrow the
régime, had taken her name.
Finally, at the time of the French Revolution, as the most common of people were fighting for their rights, it seemed fitting to name the Republic after the most common of French women's names.
Models
The official busts of Marianne, after having had anonymous features, being represented by women of the people, began taking on the features of famous women starting in 1969, with the artist
Brigitte Bardot Shortly thereafter a mini-scandal shook France, after it was publicised that Casta — the new icon of the Republic — had relocated to
London. Although she claimed that her move was motivated by practical professional reasons, the magazine
Le Point, among others, suggested that she was trying to escape taxes. In late 2003,
Évelyne Thomas, a
talk show host, was chosen as the new Marianne.
Although these figures are "official", there's no strict regulation governing the display of one over the other ones.
New Government Logo
Blue-white-red, Marianne,
Liberté-Égalité-Fraternité, the Republic: these powerful
national symbols represent France, as a State, and its values (as opposed to the "
Gallic rooster" representing France as a nation and its history, land and culture). Since September 1999, they've been combined in a new "identifier" created by the
Plural Left government of
Lionel Jospin under the aegis of the French Government Information Service (SIG) and the public relations officials in the principal ministries. As a federating identifier of the government departments, it appears on a wide range of material—brochures, internal and external publications, publicity campaigns, letter headings, business cards, etc.—emanating from the government, starting with the various ministries (which are able to continue using their own logo) and the
préfectures and
départements.
The first objective targeted by this design is to unify government public relations. But it's also designed to "give a more accessible image to a state currently seen as abstract, remote and archaic, all the more essential in that French citizens express high expectations of the state" .
These data were gathered from numerous interviews and consultations conducted by
Sofrès (a French survey institute) in January 1999, with the general public and government workers. It emerged that the French are deeply committed to the fundamental values of the Republic, and they expect an impartial and efficient state to be the promotor and guarantor of the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Marianne'.
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