Clémence Isaure
by PRÉAULT, Antoine-Augustin, Marble, height 243 cm
During the reigns of Louis XVIII Louis Philippe, many commissions were given to various artists to execute statues of great men and women who played an important role in the history of France. These statues were placed in the Château de Versailles and in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris.
Louis-Philippe commissioned a series of statues comparable to that of Versailles for the Luxembourg Gardens, in memory of Marie de M�dicis for whom the palace had been built. Most of them are the queens of France, executed with a moving concern for historical accuracy. There were, however, other famous women, including Joan of Arc by Rude and Cl�mence Isaure, the beautiful languid poetess, by Pr�ault.