LA STATUE DU BUSTE D’EDMOND ROSTAND

About

Auguste Mayllard – 1971

Located at the end of the Allée des Bains.

The monument was erected at the end of the Allée des Bains, on the banks of the Pique, not far from the villa where the author used to stay with his parents and family. A grey marble plinth supports a second plinth of white marble, upon which rests the square shaft of the monument. Inscriptions run along the front of this shaft.

At the top, the bust is carved from white Carrara marble. On the reverse side, the bust is roughly carved up to the shoulders. The sculptor’s signature is engraved on the right-hand side. It was the author’s son, Jean, who bore a strong resemblance to his father, who sat for the bust: only the moustache was added.

The monument was erected in honour of the writer Edmond Rostand, who had died four years earlier and was a frequent visitor to the resort where he met his wife. The villa occupied by the Rostand family is situated not far from the bust’s location.

It was created by Auguste Maillard (1864–1944), a pupil of Falguière and the creator of numerous commemorative monuments and busts of notable figures, including that of Henry de Gorsse in Luchon in 1936. Maillard was chosen over Mengue, a contemporary local sculptor, as he was a close friend of Rostand. The monument was unveiled on 24 July 1922. On that occasion, Henry de Gorsse delivered a speech on behalf of the Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers. The installation of the bust led to the neighbouring boulevard being named after Edmond Rostand.

Four lines from the poem *L’Eau* have been engraved on the front of the monument; they evoke Rostand’s childhood in Luchon. The monument has been redesigned: it was originally situated right on the edge of the Allée des Bains, with the bust resting on a fluted column shaft; it was subsequently moved back to a position near La Pique and fitted with its current plinth.