Marianne of Amboise
Marianne, Town Hall Amboise
Marianne of Amboise was modelled in 1985 by film actress Catherine Deneuve, the muse of many film directors. Many town halls display a sexualized bare breasted Marianne. Ms Deneuve is far more modest.
No pressure is put on mayors to have Marianne in their town hall. Each commune decides whether to have one or not.
The first representations of Marianne were anonymous until French personalities were chosen to model for the iconic symbol. The first (1969) was the film actress Brigitte Bardot who became an international sex symbol after starring in And God…created woman.
The first written mention of Marianne representing France was October 1792 near Toulouse. Guillaume Lavabre (1755-1845) wrote La guérison de Marianne (the healing of Marianne) a revolutionary song, ten days after the founding of the Republic. At that time, Marianne was the most common name for girls.
Marianne made her first appearance on a French postage stamp in 1849. She made her first appearance in French town halls in 1877.
In 1943, the Vichy government banned Marianne. She was replaced with busts of Marshal Pétain.
In October 1999 the vote for a new Marianne was open to France’s 36,000 mayors. Today it’s customary for each new President to choose a woman who embodies the country's ideals.
Emmanuel Macron chose Yseult Digan. Born in France to a French father and English mother, she is the first street artist invited to design Marianne.
As a tribute to the victims of the November 2015 Paris attacks, American street artist Shepard Fairey created a poster representing a stylized Marianne. He gave it to President Macron who hung it in the Elycee Palace.
Post by Pamela.
