Equestrian statue of Joan of Arc (Washington, D.C.)

Description

The bronze equestrian statue depicts Joan of Arc riding a trotting horse, her body slightly twisted. She holds a sword in her raised right hand and the horse's reins in her left. The horse's front right and left back feet are lifted. Joan wears a helmet with a raised visor and gazes skyward. The statue, which has developed a green patina from exposure, rests on a three-tiered sea green granite base. The front and back of the base bear inscriptions. The work is situated in the center of the grand terrace at Meridian Hill Park, just north of the Cascading Waterfall. It is one of several artworks in the park, including the Serenity statue, the Dante Alighieri statue, the James Buchanan Memorial, and the Noyes Armillary Sphere.

History

Joan of Arc (1412–1431) was a French heroine and patron saint who, claiming divine guidance, fought for France during the Hundred Years' War. She led troops at the siege of Orléans, enabling the coronation of Charles VII, but was later captured, tried for heresy by French clergy, and burned at the stake. Her conviction was overturned in a later rehabilitation trial. She became a national symbol of France in the 1800s and was canonized in 1920.

Paul Dubois's plaster equestrian statue was presented at the 1889 Paris Salon, and the completed work was installed at Reims Cathedral in 1896. Additional casts were placed at churches in Paris and Strasbourg. A cast for Washington, D.C., was proposed to the United States Commission of Fine Arts in May 1916 by Carlo Polifeme, president of the Society of Women of France of New York. After lobbying, Senator Frank B. Brandegee introduced a 1920 resolution for the statue's installation.

The bronze cast was produced by Rudier Foundry under the French Minister of Fine Arts. The granite pedestal, designed by McKim, Mead & White, was carved by either the Rockport Granite Company or H. L. Davis of the Harrison Granite Company, with A. Le Poidevin & Co., Inc., as contractor. The Society of Women of France of New York paid for production and installation. Stones and dirt from France and a copper box were placed in the foundation.

The dedication ceremony on January 6, 1922, included President Warren G. Harding, First Lady Florence Harding, French Ambassador Jean Jules Jusserand, and Secretary of War John W. Weeks. A 17-gun salute from Fort Myer marked the first time the U.S. military fired such a salute for a woman. The statue has been repeatedly vandalized; its sword has been stolen and replaced many times since the 1930s, with the most recent restoration and replacement occurring in 2018.