PARIS -- Paris celebrated the 230th anniversary of American independence by commemorating Thomas Jefferson with a 10-foot bronze statue of the former minister to France along the Seine River.
The statue of the third American president, who served as minister to France from 1785 to 1789, is the first erected in France. Jefferson is credited with introducing French culture to the American masses upon his return.
Thomas Jefferson "stretched the horizons of my country from sea to shining sea," said Washington, D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams. "The long-standing French-American friendship has produced, in my estimation, a cultural richness evidenced in our nation's capital from the arts to all of our restaurants."
Williams, along with Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoë and American Ambassador to France Craig Stapleton were among the dignitaries assembled to mark the occasion.
The statue, constructed by French sculptor Jean Cardot, was donated to the city of Paris by the Florence Gould Foundation, an American institution dedicated to French-American cultural exchange, and by French-American art dealer Guy Wildenstein in memory of his father, art collector Daniel Wildenstein.
"I started it because of what Jefferson stood for, and for his contribution to the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which was adopted in 1789 by the revolutionary Assemblée Nationale," said Wildenstein. "I think it was important. He was a man who loved France dearly, just as much as I love America."
According to University President John T. Casteen III, who was at the unvieling, there were several efforts dating back from the John F. Kennedy presidential administration to get the project off the ground, yet Wildenstein was the first man to bring the vision to fruition.
"Guy Wildenstein is the force behind the acquisition and the location of the statue," said Casteen. "It's an interesting case of determination to do something thought to be important for both nations. I admire the fact that Guy was able to accomplish what he accomplished. I don't think many of us would have put money on Guy's chances of doing this, but he did."
The lengthy process of establishing the monument to Jefferson began with a simple conversation.
"In 2000, [I was having] a conversation with the mayor of the 16 arrondissement [District], and it was Thanksgiving so we were talking about America," Wildenstein said. "He said, 'You know, there is no place or street or avenue that bears the Jefferson name in the capital.' And I said, 'This is not possible, we have to do something about it,' and that's why I decided to donate this statue."
The statue is situated by the Pont Solferino in the 7 arrondissement of Paris and is specifically placed across from L'Hôtel de Salm, a building that Jefferson admired and even used as a model for some of his greatest architectural achievements. The Hôtel de Salm, now called the Musée de la Légion d'Honneur and modeled after the Maison Carré in Nimes, was Jefferson's inspiration for Monticello and its influence can also be seen in the White House, according to Cardot's assistant Rosy Lamb.
Cardot, a family friend of Wildenstein, also sculpted monuments of Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle placed near to where Jefferson stands. His statue depicts Jefferson holding a quill pen in one hand and a first draft, or elevation, of Monticello in the other.
University alumni hailing from France have mixed opinions as to whether the monument will make a mark upon the city."I'm sure the statue will be something great for the French people to know him in France," said Guillaume Guerin, a 2001 Law graduate.
His friend Laetitia Boidevaix, a 2003 College graduate, thought the monument would be beneficial to the region -- if the people embraced it.
"I mean, a statue is a statue, it depends what you make out of it. If you organize tours, you include it as one of the landmarks," then it would make a difference, she said.
Arnaud Forgiel, a 2000 Darden graduate, said he thought the statue would not make a dent in the nation's conscience due to the current national obsession -- the World Cup, where France is in the finals.
"Right now, there's the World Cup -- I think nobody will notice," Forgiel said.
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