Liberty Enlightening The World in the Jardin du Luxembourg, Paris

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This replica is one of many miniature versions of the colossal neoclassical sculpture standing proudly on Liberty Island in New York. It's a crucial step in the development process of the copper statue designed by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, a renowned artist. The 93-meter-tall masterpiece was gifted to the United States by the people of France on October 28, 1886. This magnificent sculpture depicts Libertas, the Roman goddess, wearing a flowing robe and holding a torch and a tabula ansata in her hands. The tablet bears an inscription commemorating July 4, 1776, the day the American Declaration of Independence was signed. A broken chain lies at her feet as a symbol of freedom and liberation. This statue has become an iconic representation of both freedom and the United States. On October 28, 1886, Bartholdi crafted a smaller replica of the Statue of Liberty to commemorate the occasion of the Exposition Universelle in Paris. He later gifted it to the Musée du Luxembourg, where it stood outside for over a century until 2012. In its place now stands a newly constructed bronze replica at the entrance to the Musée d'Orsay, while the original remains on display in the museum. The inscription on this miniature statue's tablet reads "15 novembre 1889" (November 15, 1889), marking the date of its inauguration. Bartholdi was inspired by Édouard René de Laboulaye, a French law professor and politician who proposed that any monument commemorating American independence should be a collaborative effort between the French and American people, dating back to 1865.