In classical times, it was common to represent ideas and abstract entities by gods, goddesses and allegoric personifications. Less common during the Middle Ages, this practice resurfaced during the Renaissance. During the French Revolution, many allegorical personifications of "Liberty"and "Reason" appeared. These two figures finally merged into one: a female figure, shown either sitting or standing, and accompanied by various attributes, including the rooster, the tricolore cockade, and the Phrygian cap. This woman typically symbolized Liberty, Reason, the Nation, the Homeland, the civic virtues of the Republic. (Compare the Statue of Liberty, created by a French artist, with a copy in Paris.)In September 1792, the National Convention decided by decree that the new seal of the state would represent a standing woman holding a spear with a Phrygian cap held aloft on top of it.
Why is it a woman and not a man who represents the Republic? One could find the answer to this question in the traditions and mentality of the French, suggests the historian Maurice Agulhon, who set out on a detailed investigation to discover the origins of Marianne. Note also that both liberté and république are feminine words in French.
The use of this emblem was initially unofficial and very diverse. Marianne/Liberty makes an appearance in Eugène Delacroix's bravura political propaganda Liberty Leading the People (Louvre Museum), painted in July 1830, before the first rush of enthusiasm for Louis Philippe had time to cool. In 1848, the Ministry of the Interior launched a contest to symbolize the Republic. After the fall of the monarchy, the Provisional Government had declared: "The image of liberty should replace everywhere the images of corruption and shame, which have been broken in three days by the magnanimous French people." Two "Mariannes" were authorised: the one is fighting and victorious, recalling the Greek goddess Athena; the other is wise and serious. She made her first appearance on a French postage stamp in 1849. Later, during the Second Empire (1852-1870), this depiction was clandestine and served as a symbol of protest against the regime. The common use of the name "Marianne" for the depiction of the "Liberty" started around 1848-1851, with a generalization around 1875. It began to be more official during the Third Republic (1870-1940). The city hall of Paris displayed a statue of "Marianne" wearing a Phrygian cap in 1880, and was quickly followed by the other French cities.
Models
Today, Marianne remains as attractive as ever. She has even grown younger. The official busts, after having had anonymous features, began taking the features of famous women during the Fifth Republic: the first one was Brigitte Bardot in 1970, with the design of the sculptor Alain Gourdon, aka Aslan, who reportedly did so at first as a joke. She was followed by Mireille Mathieu (1978, Aslan again), Catherine Deneuve (1985), Inès de la Fressange, Sophie Marceau, and Laetitia Casta (2000).
Laetitia Casta was named the symbolic representation of France's Republic in a vote, for the first time open to the country's more than 36,000 mayors in October 1999. She won the vote from a shortlist of 5 candidates, scoring 36% among the 15,000 voting mayors. The other candidates were Estelle Hallyday, Patricia Kaas, Daniela Lumbroso and Nathalie Simon. Shortly thereafter, a mini-scandal shook France, after it was publicized that Casta – the new icon of the Republic – had relocated to London. Although she claimed that her move was motivated by practical professional reasons, the magazine Le Point, among others, suggested that she was trying to escape taxes, "following 250,000 other money-making Frenchmen who moved to the United Kingdom".
In 2002, a new Marianne was born. She does not have the features of a famous French woman but those of an anonymous beurette (young woman of North African descent), discovered by a scouting agent looking for a model who would symbolize a modern, multiethnic France.
In late 2003, Evelyne Thomas, a talk show host, was chosen as the new Marianne.
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