Emmanuel FREMIET (Paris, 1824 - 1910) Joan of Arc Bronze with shaded brown patina Signed 'E FREMIET' on the terrace Height: 74 cm (The gilt bronze laurel wreath cast separately) Bibliography: related : Catherine Chevillot, Emmanuel Frémiet 1824-1910. La main et le multiple, cat. exp. Dijon-Grenoble, 1988-1989, p. 127, cat n° 101b Under the Third Republic, Emmanuel Frémiet received major public commissions for monumental statuary, including the gilded bronze equestrian statue of Joan of Arc, erected in 1874 on the Place des Pyramides in Paris. The 1870s were marked by the glorification of the great figures of national history who had resisted the invaders, and by a revival of Christian fervour. Joan of Arc was a heroic figure whose commitment and resistance in the face of the English invasion in 1429 were exalted in the aftermath of the defeat at Sedan and the occupation of the country by the Prussians during the 1870 war. Wearing a crown of laurels and brandishing her standard, Joan of Arc appears as a conqueror and the embodiment of victory. Emmanuel FREMIET (Paris, 1824 - 1910)