I have seen this monument to Chopin numerous times when walking through le jardin du Luxembourg in Paris. The original bust of Chopin by George Dubois was removed during World War II. It was replaced in 1999 with a another one by the Polish sculptor Boleslaw Syrewicz. I have often wondered who the young nude woman is embracing Chopin. According to some sources it is Jenny Lind, the famous opera singer known as the Swedish Nightingale, who is embracing the statue. She, who had turned down many a rich and powerful suitor in pursuing her devotion and hopes for marriage to Chopin, loved, supported and, after his death, honoured Chopin for the rest of her life. I have also often wondered as I would stroll past, just exactly what kind of embrace it really depicts. The positioning of Lind leaves a lot up to one’s imagination. He looks stoic and disinterested, while she has a sad but passionate look on her face…
Photo of the memorial to Fryderyk Chopin in le jardin du Luxembourg in Paris taken in May 2013.
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