Unusual
article | Reading time8 min
A man of letters, a politician and a great witness to his times, Victor Hugo was deeply attached to the Arc de triomphe. Here, explore the major events that brought the author and the monument together over the course of the 19th century.
French history through the life of a poet
A committed man
A prolific writer, Victor Hugo was also a politically committed man. A fervent defender of the monarchy at the beginning of the century, Hugo gradually became an assertive republican from the 1850s onwards. Deeply rooted on the left in the last half of his life, he served the Republic until his death.
Victor Hugo also witnessed the construction of the Arc de triomphe. His admiration for Napoleon I led him to write in defense of this architectural and artistic project.
With the fall of the Empire in 1814, construction of the Arc de triomphe was abruptly suspended. It was not until nine years later, in 1823, that King Louis XVIII ordered work to resume. A month after the reopening of the worksite, and despite the fact that the Arc de triomphe was still a long way from completion, Hugo sang of the glories of this young monument:
Arc triomphal ! lightning, in striking down your master, Seemed to have struck your brow yet unborn. By our new exploits you are raised!
Odes et ballades, November 1823.
Pascal Lemaître / Centre des monuments nationaux
From Revolution to Empire
When Louis XVIII died in 1824, Charles X continued construction. Victor Hugo was delighted. However, the revolutionary days of 1830 brought Louis-Philippe I to the throne, a citizen king whose reign was marked by a spirit of national harmony. This new period, the July Monarchy, found favor with the poet. Appointed a peer of France by Louis-Philippe I, Victor Hugo took his first steps into politics.
Construction of the Arc de triomphe was completed in 1836. The monument celebrates both the Revolution and the Empire. The French discovered the 660 names of generals and marshals engraved on the monument's pillars. Victor Hugo also visited the monument. But exaltation gave way to disappointment. His father, Joseph Léopold Sigisbert Hugo, seemed to have been forgotten. A year later, he wrote À l'Arc de Triomphe, a long poem ending with the lines
When my thought thus, ageing your attack, Makes you of the future a magnificent past, Then under your greatness I bend fearfully, I admire, and, pious son, passer-by whom art animates, I regret nothing before your sublime wall That Phidias absent and my father forgotten.
Victor Hugo
Pascal Lemaître / Centre des monuments nationaux
A witness to his times
In 1840, Louis-Philippe I commissioned his son, the Duc de Joinville, to organize the return of Napoleon I's ashes from St. Helena. On December 15th, a national tribute was held from the Arc de triomphe to the Hôtel national des Invalides. Victor Hugo was one of the many guests. He reported on what he saw and heard during this national tribute, which brought together several hundred thousand French people.
He deplored the half-hearted tribute, which failed to capture the imperial panache. In particular, he referred to Guillaume Abel Blouet's coronation atop the Arc de triomphe:
A mediocre operatic decor occupies the summit of the triumphal arch, the emperor standing on a chariot surrounded by Renommées, with Gloire on his right and Grandeur on his left [...] This is monumental galimatias.
Victor Hugo
In fact, in 1834, the last architect of the Arc de triomphe, designed a coronation for the Arc de triomphe. Originally, the figure of France was depicted in the center. On the eve of the return of Napoleon's ashes, Blouet replaced France with Napoleon in imperial garb.
Reproduction Benjamin Gavaudo / Centre des monuments nationaux
Republican figurehead to the end
Exile under Napoleon III
The Second Republic is born of the 1848 Revolution. Victor Hugo successfully stood for election. He supported Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte in the presidential election. However, Victor Hugo was more ferocious during the coup d'état of 1851, which established Napoleon III's Second Empire.
The author went into exile and became the greatest opponent of the man he called "Napoléon Le Petit" and his liberticidal policies. When the Second Empire fell in 1870, Victor Hugo returned to France to widespread acclaim. He had become the quintessential republican figure.
Just a stone's throw from the Arc de triomphe, the poet stayed in his private mansion at 50 rue d'Eylau. It was here that he spent the last years of his life. In 1881, the Republic renamed its own street after him. His correspondence was preceded by the words "À Victor Hugo, en son avenue, à Paris".
On May 15th, 1885, Victor Hugo fell victim to pulmonary congestion. France lived through the poet's final hours, hanging on news reports and chronicles. Thousands of French people gathered day and night around his home. He died on May 22th at 50 avenue Victor Hugo (now number 124).
Paris Musées / Maisons de Victor Hugo Paris-Guernesey
A state funeral
Faced with the magnitude of the emotion generated by Victor Hugo's death, the French Republic decided to pay a triumphant tribute to the poet. On May 31th, at around 6am, the convoy carrying the writer's remains left 50 avenue Victor Hugo and headed for the Arc de triomphe.
The catafalque stands beneath the monument's great arch. The 22-meter-high catafalque was designed by Charles Garnier. The architect of the Opéra had volunteered to design this work, whose shape was reminiscent of both an urn and an inkwell.
Victor Hugo's body is laid at the foot of the catafalque. A crepe veil is spread over the Arc de triomphe. Another veil covers Falguière's coronation at the top of the Arc de triomphe. The poet was watched over by millions of French people throughout the night of May 31th, 1885. To illuminate the monument, 44 candelabras were lit, while 4 urns diffused incense.
More than 2,000 French and foreign delegations visited the Arc de triomphe in succession. On the morning of June 1st, floats full of wreaths converged on the Place de l'Étoile. Tricolor flags are waved by the crowd. Speeches were made by the President of the Senate, the President of the Chamber, the Minister of Public Instruction, Fine Arts and Religious Affairs. The Académie Française is also represented.
For the duration of the tribute, the Arc de triomphe became the catalyst of national emotion. Later in the day, Victor Hugo's body was taken to the Panthéon. In accordance with his last wish, he was transported in the hearse of the poor.
© Paris Musées
To the monument
Guillaume Dubufe's apotheosis
In 1888, artist Guillaume Dubufe painted "La Trinité poétique Alfred de Musset, Victor Hugo et Alphonse de Lamartine", exhibited at the Salon de la Société des Artistes Français that same year.
The final work was used to decorate the French Pavilion at the 1904 World's Fair in Saint-Louis, USA. This sketch shows Victor Hugo's catafalque under the Arc de triomphe. He is greeted by a cloud of musical angels, one of whom holds out a tricolor flag. From 2018 to 2021, the painting has been on display in the Musée de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Reproduction Patrick Cadet / Centre des monuments nationaux
To find out more
Heritage, at the heart of the writer's life.
From Les Misérables to Notre-Dame de Paris, Victor Hugo and his writings were influenced by the monuments that surrounded him. Here, we take a look at five essential facts to help you understand the author.
