18 November 2011

Michel de Montaigne's Magic Foot, 5th arrondissement, Paris, France: Literary Île-de-France #23

Square Paul-Painlevé near the Sorbonne contains the statue of Montaigne. It was sculpted by Paul Landowski and donated by Doctor Armaingaud. Originally in stone, it was replaced by this bronze copy in 1989.
At the base of the statue is a quotation from Montaigne, in which he speaks of the vital importance Paris has been to him since his childhood, and of the greatness of the city:

'PARIS A MON COEUR DÈS MON ENFANCE. JE NE SUIS FRANÇAIS QUE PAR CETTE GRANDE CITÉ. GRANDE SURTOUT ET INCOMPARABLE EN VARIÉTÉ. LA GLOIRE DE LA FRANCE ET L'UN DES PLUS NOBLES ORNEMENTS DU MONDE.'

His left foot is shiny from people rubbing it for luck, which we can compare with similar behavior vis-á-vis Victor Noir's prominent erection in Père-Lachaise, and Dalida's breasts in Square Dalida.

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