A monument to the memory of the native man

When the press announced Alphonse de Lamartine’s death on 2 March 1869, the town of Macon wished to erect a monument worthy of him and to perpetuate the memory of the public man.

A fundraising was launched and the collected sums amounted to 55 204 francs as early as December 1869. If the program of the first competition published on 31 March 1870 planned the “Arms square” (now the “Peace square”) as location for the sculpture, the stop of the project because of the Franco-Prussian conflict modified the choice.

In the second version of the program that dated back to 1873, the Saone quay was selected to welcome the monument. The 27 participants, sculptors most of the time associated with an architect for the creation of the pedestal, were invited to present the plaster model to 1/6th scale as well as a drawing of elevation at the School of Fine Arts.

The candidates sent at the same time to Macon a photograph of their project along with a motto of their choice to guarantee the anonymity of each proposal. The jury, composed of 5 sculptors, with two teachers from the School of Fine Arts, two architects and five members of the Macon commission that met on 30 September 1874 and awarded four awards : the sculptor Alexandre Falguière and the architect Louis Scellier of Gisors won the competition, Louis-Auguste Roubaud and Jules de Perthes received the second prize. Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, associate of the architect Jules Dalbin, obtained the third place. A fourth award was granted to the sculptors Emile Boisseau and Jean-Barnabé Amy and to the architect Jules Reboul as well.

In Macon, the other members of the commission preferred the monument of the sculptor Emile-Louis Truffot and Pierre-Félix Julien. The model of Falguiere was puzzling as the sculpture was considered too different and adjustments were required. Alexandre Falguière then asked some advice to Lamartine’s friends to achieve a more faithful piece. The monument was finally revealed to the public on 18 August 1878. The work in-situ pleased more: during the inauguration, the placement of the character, the gaze turned towards the plains of the Bresse and Saone were particularly appreciated.