The Elephant of the Bastille was a monument in Paris which existed between 1813 and 1846. Originally conceived in 1808 by

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, the colossal statue was intended to be created out of

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

and placed in the

Place de la Bastille The Place de la Bastille () is a square in Paris where the Bastille prison once stood, until the storming of the Bastille and its subsequent physical destruction between 14 July 1789 and 14 July 1790 during the French Revolution. No vestige of ...

, but only a

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

full-scale model was built. At 24 m (78 ft) in height, the model itself became a recognisable construction and was immortalised by

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

in his novel ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' (1862) in which it is used as a shelter by the

street urchin Street children are poor or homeless children who live on the streets of a city, town, or village. Homeless youth are often called street kids, or urchins; the definition of street children is contested, but many practitioners and policymakers ...

Gavroche Gavroche () is a fictional character in the 1862 novel ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hugo. He is a boy who lives on the streets of Paris. His name has become a synonym for an urchin or Street children, street child. Gavroche plays a short yet si ...

. It was built at the site of the

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...

and, although part of the original construction remains, the elephant itself was replaced a few years later by the

July Column The July Column () is a monumental column in Paris commemorating the Revolution of 1830. It stands in the center of the Place de la Bastille and celebrates the — the 'three glorious' days of 27–29 July 1830 that saw the fall of Char ...

(1835–40) constructed on the same spot.

Conception

When the Bastille fell in July 1789, there was some debate as to what should replace it, or indeed if it should remain as a monument to the past. Pierre-François Palloy secured the contract to demolish the building, with the

dimension stone Dimension stone is natural stone or Rock (geology), rock that has been selected and finished (e.g., trimmed, cut, drilled or ground) to specific sizes or shapes. Color, Texture (geology), texture and pattern, and surface finish of the stone are ...

s being reused for the construction of the Pont de la Concorde and other parts sold by Palloy as souvenirs.Lost Paris: The Elephant on the Place de la Bastille
. 24 May 2011. Accessed 20 August 2011. Most of the building was removed over the subsequent months by up to 1,000 workers.Place de la Bastille, Part 5
Discover France. Accessed 20 August 2011. In 1792 the area was turned into the Place de la Bastille with only traces of the fortress that had once dominated the area remaining. In 1793, a fountain was built in the square. Known as the "Fountain of Regeneration", it had an Egyptian-inspired design and depicted a woman with water flowing from her breasts. Schama, Simon. ''Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution''. Penguin; New Ed edition 26 Aug 2004. Napoleon planned many urban regeneration projects for Paris and was particularly fond of monuments to his victories. He wanted to create a significant triumphal structure to demonstrate his military prowess and began the process of designing a 24 m (78 ft)Lepage, Jean-Denis GG. ''French Fortifications, 1715-1815: An Illustrated History''. McFarland & Co Inc. 15 Dec 2009. p. 183 bronze elephant. In the Imperial decree of 24 February 1811, he specified that the colossal bronze elephant be cast from the guns captured at the

Battle of Friedland The Battle of Friedland (14 June 1807) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars between the armies of the French Empire commanded by Napoleon I and the armies of the Russian Empire led by General Levin August von Bennigsen. Napoleon and t ...

. A stairway would allow visitors to ascend one of the elephant's legs to an observation platform on its back,Katia Frey, ''L'Enterprise napoléonienne'', in ''Paris et ses fontaines'', pp. 120-21. styled as a

howdah A howdah or houdah (, derived from the Arabic which means 'bed carried by a camel') also known as hathi howdah ( ), is a carriage which is positioned on the back of an elephant, or occasionally some other animal, such as a camel, used most ...

Construction

Dominique Vivant Dominique Vivant, Baron Denon (; 4 January 1747 – 27 April 1825) was a French artist, writer, diplomat, author, and archaeologist. Denon was a diplomat for France under Louis XV and Louis XVI. He was appointed as the first Director of the Louv ...

was given the task of overseeing the project. Initially, Jacques Cellerier was chosen as the architect and work began in 1810 on the ground works, with the vaults and underground pipes completed by 1812.Bruyère, Louis, ''Études relatives à l'art des constructions'', t. XII (''Mélanges''), Paris, 1828. p. 7 –11. (French) At this point

Jean-Antoine Alavoine Jean-Antoine Alavoine (4 January 1778 – 15 November 1834) was a French architect best known for his column in the Place de la Bastille, Paris (1831–1840), the July Column to memorialize those fallen in the Revolution of 1830. The column, cons ...

was chosen to replace him and the main pool was soon completed. Alavoine, realising the need to show how the finished work would look, recruited Pierre-Charles Bridan to create a full-size model using plaster over a wooden frame.''Paris à vol d'oiseau'', "Monuments", Paris, 1845, p. 108. (French) Completed in 1814, the model was protected by a guard named Levasseur who lived in one of the elephant's legs. The construction work stopped in 1815 after the defeat of Napoleon at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

. However, Alavoine was still seeking support to complete the project in 1833 and others also showed interest in finishing Napoleon's ambitious plans. In 1841 and 1843 the city council discussed options to complete the work using bronze, iron or copper, but none of the proposals were accepted.

Demolition

Nearby residents began to complain that rats were inhabiting the elephant and searching for food in their homes; and from the late 1820s, petitioned for demolition. The model elephant was not removed until 1846 by which time it showed considerable wear.Hillairet, Jacques. ''Connaissance du Vieux Paris''. 1956. p. 9-10. (French)

Legacy

The circular basin on which the elephant stood remains to this day and now supports the socle of the

. The elephant itself was described negatively by

in ''

''; little other account of contemporary public perception is available. In April 2012 a smaller replica of the elephant was built in

Greenwich Greenwich ( , , ) is an List of areas of London, area in south-east London, England, within the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London, east-south-east of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime hi ...

as part of the set of the 2012 film version of the musical ''

''.

Simon Schama Sir Simon Michael Schama ( ; born 13 February 1945) is an English historian and television presenter. He specialises in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. He is a professor of history and art history at Columbia Uni ...

, in the first chapter of '' Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution'' (1989), tells the story of the Elephant of the Bastille, which he uses as a symbol of the failed hopes of the French Revolution. The elephant is a recurring Parisian landmark in

Bernard Cornwell Bernard Cornwell (born 23 February 1944) is an English author of historical novels and a history of the Waterloo Campaign. He is best known for his long-running series of novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe. He has also writ ...

's novel '' Sharpe's Assassin'' (2021).

Gallery

File:Elephant de la Bastille aquarelle de Jean Alavoine.jpg, Watercolour by architect Jean-Antoine Alavoine File:Fontaine de la Bastille, par Louis Bruyère.jpg, 1828 representation of the fountain by Louis Bruyère File:Vue du canal de l'Ourcq sous la fontaine de la Bastille, par Louis Bruyère.jpg, 1828 representation of the

Canal Saint-Martin The Canal Saint-Martin () is a 4.6 km (2.86 mi) long canal in Paris, connecting the Canal de l'Ourcq to the river Seine. Nearly half its length (), between the Rue du Faubourg du Temple and the Place de la Bastille, was covered in the mid- ...

beneath the fountain by Louis Bruyère File:Eléphant Bastille (2).jpg, 1834 engraving by an unknown artist File:Eléphant bastille.JPG, 1853 drawing by Gabriel Roux

References