Bronze of Jeanne Hachette from Susse Frères, France, 19th Century

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Description

Bronze depicting Jeanne Hachette, Susse Frères foundry.

Crafted according to 19th-century aesthetic standards, the work is part of the Historicist … Read more Bronze depicting Jeanne Hachette, Susse Frères foundry.

Crafted according to 19th-century aesthetic standards, the work is part of the Historicist movement that, in the second half of the century, celebrated great national and patriotic figures, combining academic rigor and Romantic expressiveness.

Jeanne is depicted standing, her torso slightly turned, in a dynamic posture that conveys the movement and tension of the heroic moment. Her right arm is bent toward her chest, while the other firmly holds an axe, a central attribute of her legend. The bronze treatment reveals a great mastery of the material: the heavy, deep folds of the skirt, the tight lacing of the bodice, the clean-cut ankle boots, and the wavy hair framing a concentrated face are rendered with remarkable finesse.

The modeling of the face combines sweetness and determination. The features are idealized without losing emotional intensity, typical of the 19th-century taste for heroic and moral beauty. The homogeneous, subtly polished brown patina on the reliefs accentuates the interplay of light and shadow, lending the whole a silent monumentality.

Jeanne stands on a structured plinth reminiscent of the steps of a bastion—an architectural element that anchors the scene in its historical context while providing a theatrical backdrop for the character's staging.

Beyond its historical evocation, this work is a manifesto of civic courage and the role of women in the defense of the city. Bronze, a noble and enduring material, reinforces the timeless nature of Joan's gesture, elevated here as a figure of virtue, resistance, and popular heroism.

Historical Context

In 1472, while Charles the Bold's troops were besieging Beauvais, Jeanne Laisné, a young resident of the city, seized an axe and repelled a Burgundian soldier who was attempting to raise his standard on the ramparts. Her act galvanized the defenders, and the siege was lifted. King Louis XI, in recognition, exempted the city from certain taxes and ordered an annual procession to celebrate this act of courage. Since then, Jeanne Hachette has become a symbol of popular resistance and the ability of women to defend their country as well as men. This piece has an attribution mark,
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