The Departure of the Volunteers of 1792 (La Marseillaise)

1833–36

Stone, high relief. Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, Paris

A winged figure shouts and brandishes a sword above armed citizens rushing to defend France against foreign armies. It is one of four colossal groups carved for the piers of the Arc de Triomphe.

Commissioned under Adolphe Thiers as a political choice of the July Monarchy; the arch was inaugurated in 1836.
Look below her: a bearded veteran raises his arm in a rallying gesture and hugs a naked young recruit to his side, with an elder at the back offering counsel.
Ancient-style armor and nudity replace 1792 uniforms, so that the struggle reads as universal, not local.
Public sculpture gains a Romantic voice: violent motion and raw emotion take the place of the calm, balanced poses expected of official monuments.
It remains on the arch, which the Centre des monuments nationaux now manages.

Relief: Sculpture that projects from a flat background instead of standing free.

Image: Wikimedia Commons · CC0