Philatelic Photograph: Le Départ des volontaires de 1792 - Paris, France

Interesting Places I've Photographed

Le Départ des volontaires de 1792 
(Departure of the Volunteers of 1792)

Paris, France

Topic: Philatelic Photographs

Le Départ des volontaires de 1792 (Departure of the Volunteers of 1792)

Arc de Triomphe

 GPS: N48° 52.431; E002° 17.723

Short Description:

Le Départ des volontaires de 1792 (Departure of the Volunteers of 1792) also called the La Marseillaise was created by by François Rude. It occupies the northeast face of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.

Long Description:

The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 after the victory of the Grand Army at Austerlitz. The monument was designed in the Neo-classical style by Jean Chalgrin in 1806. When Chalgrin died in 1811, construction was taken over by Jean-Nicolas Huyot. Construction was halted during the Bourbon Restoration (1814 - 1830), and resumed between 1833 and 1836, under the reign of King Louis-Philippe. The architects were Goust, then Huyot working under the direction of Héricart de Thury. The inspiration for the Arch was the Roman Arch of Titus.

In 1833  King Louis-Philippe commissioned  François Rude to create a monumental bas-relief sculpture for the unfinished Arc de Triomphe. The result was the most famous of the four large relief sculptures Le Départ des volontaires de 1792 (The Departure of the Volunteers of 1792).  In this work, created between 1833 and 1836,  he raises to mythic proportions the concept of the French people defending the Republic. A group of  volunteers are shown surging forward  inspired by the large figure of winged Liberty brandishing a sword above them. The relief embodied the patriotic zeal of the French during the Revolution that it came to be known as La Marseillaise, the Revolutionary song that became the national anthem of France.

The four large sculptural groups on the base of the Arc Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile are: The Triumph of 1810 by Cortot, Resistance and Peace both by Antoine Étex, and Departure of the Volunteers of 1792 (commonly called La Marseillaise) by François Rude.

The Arc de Triomphe  is 164' high, 148' wide, and 72' deep. The central vault is 95.8' high and 48.0' wide. The smaller side vaults are 61.3' high and 27.7' wide. The Arc de Triomphe honors those who fought and died for France in the during the French Revolution and in the Napoleonic Wars. The names of all French victories and generals are inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.

The stamp was issued by France on June 27, 1936 as part of a two stamp set issued to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of  Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, the composer of La Marseillaise.