Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité!

Statue of Marianne in the post office of the French Assemblée Nationale.

"Marianne is usually depicted as a beautiful young maiden and often leans on a fasces (a symbol of authority). She traditionally wears a red Phrygian cap (also named Liberty cap) ornate with a tricolour cockade (symbol of Freedom). The Phrygian cap refers to the pileus, the cap worn by emancipated slaves of Ancient Rome. In the 19th century, the Phrygian cap was thought to be too revolutionary and Marianne was sometimes crowned with a laurel wreath."

"The king came to Paris, leaving the queen in consternation for his return... the king's carriage was in the center, on each side of it the States general, in two ranks, afoot, at their head the Marquis de la Fayette as commander in chief, on horseback, and Bourgeois guards before and behind.

About 60,000 citizens of all forms and colours, armed with the muskets of the Bastille and Invalids as far as they would go, the rest with pistols, swords, pikes, pruning hooks, scythes &c. lined all the streets thro' which the procession passed, and, with the crowds of people in the streets, doors and windows, saluted them every where with cries of 'vive la nation.' But not a single 'vive Ie roy' was heard."

- A first-hand account of the French Revolution written by Thomas Jefferson, American minister to France, in 1789.

"Marianne has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty... As a national icon Marianne represents opposition to monarchy and the championship of freedom and democracy against all forms of oppression...

Historian Maurice Agulhon, who in several works set out on a detailed investigation to discover the origins of Marianne, suggests that it is the traditions and mentality of the French that led to the use of a woman to represent the Republic. A feminine allegory was also a manner to symbolize the breaking with the old monarchy headed by kings and promote modern republican ideology.

After a turbulent first decade in the 1870s, by the 1880s the republic was accepted by most people in France and as such, the French state did not need history to justify itself, using Marianne as the unifying symbol of the republic. The only historical event that was regularly honored in France was Bastille Day, as the storming of the Bastille in 1789 was the revolutionary occurrence that appealed to most of the French, and the rest of the events of the revolution were not officially honored in order to keep the memory of the revolution as harmonious as possible. It was the strategy of the republican leaders to use symbols and the memory of history in such a way to create as wide a national consensus as possible in favor of the republic, which was why Marianne became such a prominent symbol of the republic.

- Several other quotes taken from the Wiki entry for Marianne where the coin image (inset right) was found. The colorful image (inset left) above - an early French Republic Marianne was found here.

"Thousands of protesters stormed the streets of the French capital over the weekend, leaving torched cars, smashed windows and looted stores in their wake. Police said that 133 people were injured, including 23 police officers. Anger at rising fuel prices and France’s high cost of living has exacerbated fury at French president Emmanuel Macron, seen as a wealthy and aloof figure, oblivious to the struggles of ordinary citizens.

One of the most striking images of the destruction shows a smashed statue of Marianne inside the Arc de Triomphe. The icon of Marianne emerged during the French Revolution of 1789 as a personification of the values of liberty, equality and fraternity and in later years came to represent France itself. She appears on stamps and in popular culture, and most town halls across France hold statues dedicated to her, often remodeled on contemporary French female celebrities such as Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve."

- Excerpt from a 2018 article from TIME magazine. Regarding the statue, not all portrayals of Marianne were demurely feminine. The Marianne smashed by the Gilet Jaunes (Yellow Vests) was a detail of La Marseillaise, The Departure of the Volunteers of 1792 sculpted by Francois Rude. It portrayed Marianne as a warrior - the winged goddess of Liberté rallying the French revolutionary forces onward. The image shown (inset right) is actually a charcoal drawing of the desecrated sculpture by American artist (and punk-rock musician) Robert Longo.

While I can understand the fervor, chaos, anger and dissatisfaction present in demonstrations of the political kind, I will never understand a resort to meaningless, pointless destruction... especially of historical artwork. Of course, certain acts of anti-art might be works of art in themselves... the "art" of ugliness, human decay, failure.

Art is not and never will be the enemy.

(Later note: Art cannot and never will be entirely destroyed. In this case, Marianne was transformed from a vengeful goddess into a distressed, 21st century Cyborg. BBC article.)

***

Despite being an American of Eastern European ancestry, I've always felt a certain amount of French nationalism... and I don't think I'm alone in this. Perhaps, it's Paris... which I tend to think of as the epicenter of the world's art and culture. Or, perhaps, it's the fact that both the States and France have "independence" days that fall in July. Then again, there's the Statue of Liberty which, while a strong American symbol, was made in France and was a gift from France... and is very possibly a close relative of Marianne.

When I think of America's gift to France, however, I think of singer, dancer, activist, (and member of the French Resistance) Josephine Baker (inset left)... although, in reality, it was actually Josephine who gifted herself to France (found here.):

“France made me what I am. I will be grateful forever. The people of Paris have given me everything… I am ready, captain, to give them my life. You can use me as you wish.”

"Baker became a French citizen in 1937, when she married industrialist Jean Lion... During World War II, she served as a member of the French Resistance, transmitting secret information to Allied Forces and hiding refugees in her Paris home. These efforts earned her the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor -two of France’s highest military honors...

Over the course of her career, Baker emerged as a vocal advocate for equality, refusing to perform in front of segregated audiences in the Jim Crow–era South and touring the United States to promote the civil rights movement. At the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, Baker was the sole female speaker to deliver an address alongside Martin Luther King..."

"I have walked into the palaces of kings and queens and into the houses of presidents,” said Baker in her speech. “… But I could not walk into a hotel in America and get a cup of coffee...”

“I am not a young woman now, friends. There is not too much fire burning inside me,” she said, “[but] before it goes out, I want you to use what is left to light the fire in you.”

"Baker’s career “skyrocketed” in France, in part because she had access to more opportunities abroad than she did in the segregated American South, notes NMAAHC.

'Josephine Baker embodies the [French] Republic of possibilities,” Kupferman tells the Times. 'How could a woman who came from a discriminated and very poor background achieve her destiny and become a world star? That was possible in France at a time when it was not in the United States.'”

- Several quotes which were found in the (2021) Smithsonian article: Performer Josephine Baker to Be First Black Woman Buried at Paris’ Panthéon. Apparently, there are 72 men buried at the Panthéon (amongst them, Victor Hugo and Voltaire) but only 5 women... and Josephine is the first woman of color. Also see: French writer Laurent Kupferman's Osez Joséphine Baker au Panthéon!

And, this is amongst a number of Josephine's "firsts." From the African Report we have:

"No one had ever seen a black woman adopt a white child before. Nor had anyone seen a black woman raise 12 children at a castle to become ‘soldiers of love’. Le Monde reported that Baker was 'the mother of a family of all colours' and described her as 'an anti-racial activist.' The children were 'brought up as brothers', although each 'maintained their country’s language, dress, customs and religions.'”

Which brings me to my bottom line (and well, you should've guessed that I'd have one).

In the light of the fact that statues of Marianne have been "remodeled" with the likenesses of celebrities like Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve, it only stands to reason that the first black Marianne should be... Josephine Baker!

(It was a long time coming!)

Vive Marianne!

Vive le 14 Juillet!

Pre-existing statues of Josephine Baker:

Richmond Barthé's bronze bust, circa1951

Memorial statue, sculptor unknown