Statue de Briqueville ou monument à Armand de Briqueville, à Octeville, located in Cherbourg (Manche), is a medieval landmark built in the Middle Ages. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
A monumental bust sculpted by David d'Angers, this romantic bronze portrait of Armand de Briqueville, a Napoleonic colonel and member of parliament, embodies the heroic ideals of the 19th century in the heart of the Cotentin region.
Standing on its granite pedestal in the Octeville district of Cherbourg, the monument to Armand de Briqueville is much more than a simple local tribute: it is a work of art in its own right, signed by one of the most admired sculptors of French Romanticism, Pierre-Jean David, known as David d'Angers. In this colossal hermes bust, the artist imposes his inimitable style - a powerful realism at the service of the subject's moral expression, far removed from cold academic conventions. What makes this monument truly singular is its dual nature: at once an intimate portrait of a man with multiple commitments and a testimony to an era traversed by revolutionary, imperial and liberal upheavals. The granite pedestal, designed by the architect Lemelle, once bore two bronze reliefs symbolising Briqueville's two great vocations - the military man's sword and the parliamentarian's tribune. These bas-reliefs were melted down during the Occupation and have since disappeared, leaving a visible scar on the memory of the work. A visit to this monument is an invitation to reflect on the way in which an era chooses to celebrate its heroes. David d'Angers, a staunch republican, sculpted busts not to flatter, but to fix in bronze what he perceived as the essence of a character. Here, Briqueville is depicted in the fullness of his intellectual and moral maturity, with determined eyes and a face modelled with a romantic interiority. Located in the greater Cherbourg area, this monument, listed as a Historic Monument since 2006, remains a focal point for lovers of 19th-century art and Norman history. Discreet but striking, it's well worth a visit, away from the hustle and bustle of the port, to appreciate the elegant sobriety of a sculpture that has survived two centuries without losing any of its force.
The monument consists of a colossal hermes bust - i.e. a head and neck extended by a rectangular shaft widening towards the base, in a tradition inherited from Greek and Roman antiquity. This format, chosen by David d'Angers for several of his monumental portraits, gives the work a statuary solemnity while focusing attention on the facial expression. The modelling is remarkably precise: Armand de Briqueville's features are rendered with the psychological realism characteristic of the art of David d'Angers, who rejected academic idealisation in favour of the moral truth of the subject. The bronze bust rests on a granite pedestal designed by the architect Lemelle, probably made from Cotentin granite, an emblematic material of the region. The sobriety of the pedestal - solid, with straight lines and sharp edges - contrasts with the expressive vivacity of the bust, creating a dialogue between the mineral robustness of the base and the organic sensitivity of the bronze. The two sides that once bore the symbolic reliefs now appear smooth, silent witnesses to the destruction of the Occupation. The whole is in keeping with the aesthetic of the 19th-century Romantic memorial, sober and hieratic, aiming to uplift the viewer rather than to show off.
Statue de Briqueville ou monument à Armand de Briqueville, à Octeville is located in Cherbourg, Manche department, Normandie region, France.
Statue de Briqueville ou monument à Armand de Briqueville, à Octeville dates back to a period built in the Middle Ages (11th-15th century).
Statue de Briqueville ou monument à Armand de Briqueville, à Octeville is currently closed to visitors.
