Paul Chevré (5 July 1866–20 February 1914) was a French,

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

-born sculptor who gained fame in

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

after creating the

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...

monument. He is the son of another sculptor, Romain Paul Chevré. Samuel de Champlain was the founder of

Québec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

, and the committee that selected the sculptor of his monument began its work on 2 January 1896 under the leadership of the politician

Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière Sir Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, (December 5, 1829 – November 16, 1908) lawyer, businessman and politician served as the fourth premier of Quebec, a Canadian cabinet, federal Cabinet minister, and the List of lieutenant governors of ...

, and it comprised artists like

Napoléon Bourassa Napoléon Bourassa (; October 21, 1827 – August 27, 1916) was a prominent Canadians, Canadian architect, painter and writer whose offices were located in Montreal, Quebec. Early life and training Born in L'Acadie, Quebec, he studied at Col ...

and François-Xavier Berlinguet. The decision to have Paul Chevré create the monument was controversial, as the regionally famed, native sculptor Philippe Hébert was not selected, despite proposing a very similar style. In 1900, he was awarded with a bronze medal at the

Paris International Exhibition Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. His bronze public art work, ''Marianne (La République)'' (1913) is located in front of the Union Française building of Montréal. He was awarded with a commission in 1909 to produce a monument for

Honoré Mercier Honoré Mercier (October 15, 1840 – October 30, 1894) was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician in Quebec. He was the ninth premier of Quebec from January 27, 1887, to December 21, 1891, as leader of the Parti National or Quebec Libera ...

, 9th premier of Québec. In 1911, he created a statue of

François-Xavier Garneau François-Xavier Garneau (June 15, 1809 – February 2 or February 3, 1866) was a nineteenth-century French Canadian notary, poet, civil servant and liberal who wrote a three-volume history of the French Canadian nation entitled ''Histoire du Can ...

, a Canadian historian. He is known for being a passenger on the

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

's only voyage, and he survived on a life raft. Chevré spent the time between the disaster and his death travelling between Canada and France, and he died in

Asnières-sur-Seine Asnières-sur-Seine () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and Île-de-France Regions of France, region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometr ...

near

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Works

File:Monument de Samuel de Champlain - 08.jpg, Samuel de Champlain monument (1898) File:Monument Francois-Xavier-Garneau 01.jpg, Monument to

(1912) File:Honore Mercier Quebec.JPG, Monument to

File:Gariepy Edgar Chevre Marianne.jpg, "

Marianne Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. Marianne is displayed i ...

ou La République" (1913)

References

1866 births 1914 deaths People from Brussels French sculpture French artists RMS Titanic survivors Belgian emigrants to France {{France-artist-stub