The Equestrian statue of Hubert Lyautey is a

public sculpture Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically access ...

that commemorates Hubert Lyautey, the first Resident-general of the French protectorate in Morocco, in

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

History

The statue was created by French sculptor

François Cogné François Cogné (10 August 1876 9 April 1952) was a French sculptor. His work was part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the 1924 Summer Olympics. He created an equestrian statue of Hubert Lyautey, the first French ''r éside ...

and inaugurated on in front of the city's courthouse on Casablanca's main square, now

Muhammad V Square Mohammed V Square () is a public square of historical and symbolic significance located in central Casablanca, Morocco. It was established in 1916 at the beginning of the French protectorate in Morocco under Resident-general Hubert Lyautey, on a ...

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

Mohammed V, Resident-general Charles Noguès, Lyautey's widow

Inès de Bourgoing Inès-Marie de Bourgoing, also Inès Fortoul, Inès Lyautey, (5 January 1862 – 9 February 1953) was a pioneering French nurse who served as president of the French Red Cross and established Red Cross nursing in Morocco. In recognition of her ex ...

, French minister

Guy La Chambre Guy La Chambre (June 5, 1898, in Paris – May 24, 1975) was a French politician. He served as Minister of Merchant Marine in 1934 and Minister of Air from 1938 until 1940. Life Guy La Chambre was born on June 5, 1898 into a prosperous f ...

, and other notables attended the ceremony, at which French Academician

Louis Gillet Louis-Marie-Pierre-Dominique Gillet (11 December 1876 – 1 July 1943) was a French art historian and literary historian. Life Louis Gillet was born in Paris on 11 December 1876. He studied at the Collège Stanislas de Paris and the École nor ...

gave a florid speech. A Moroccan stamp of 1946 pictures the statue. In April 1959, the statue was relocated to the grounds of the nearby French consulate-general in Casablanca, where it remains visible from the square. In 2020, a petition requested the removal of the statue from public view, given its symbolism of Colonial oppression under the French protectorate regime.

Notes

Buildings and structures in Casablanca History of Casablanca Tourist attractions in Casablanca {{Morocco-stub

History

See also

Notes