Maisonneuve monument

The Maisonneuve Monument ( French Monument à Maisonneuve ) is a monument in Montreal that commemorates the city's founder Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve . It was created by Louis-Philippe Hébert and is on the Place d'Armes . The monument includes several bronze figures on a distinctive base, surrounded by a water basin.

description

A group of Montreal citizens organized a public tender in 1891 with a view to the 250th anniversary of the city's foundation in 1642. The well-known sculptor Hébert began work in 1892 and took three years to complete. The bronze figures were cast by Thiébaut Frères in Paris . On July 1, 1895, the monument was unveiled.

In the middle of a water basin is a concrete base with a square column. On top of it stands a statue of Maisonneuve in a proud pose. In his right hand he holds a flag, his left hand clasps the pommel of a sword. He is dressed in a tunic, trousers and high boots. Smaller figures are placed on all four sides of the base. They are Jeanne Mance (founder of the first hospital), Lambert Closse (first commander of the city militia), Charles Le Moyne (noble officer) and an Iroquois .

Between the smaller figures, reliefs depict important events in the city's early history: the signing of the founding treaty of the city in Meudon , the first Holy Mass on May 18, 1642, the heroic death of Adam Dollard des Ormeaux in a battle against the Iroquois in 1660 and a symbolic representation of the “heroic” epoch. The monument has a height of 9 meters. The central statue measures 4 meters, the four smaller statues each 1.5 meters. The water basin has the shape of four semicircles with a radius of 4.7 meters.