Preservation of the Monument to Jean-François Champollion

Auguste Bartholdi’s Monument to Jean-François Champollion will be removed from the Collège de France on February 4, 2026.

The plaster cast of this sculpture was created in 1867 for the Paris World’s Fair by Auguste Bartholdi (1834–1904), who was fascinated by Egypt and a fervent admirer of Jean-François Champollion, the father of Egyptology and decipherer of hieroglyphs, who remained immensely popular throughout the century. In his correspondence, the sculptor explains the significance of this major work: “I wanted to depict Champollion as Oedipus wringing the secret from the Sphinx.”

In 1875, using this plaster cast as a model, Bartholdi created a marble statue, which was presented at the 1875 Salon, acquired by the Ministry of Fine Arts, and placed at the Collège de France. The government still owns this statue, which is now part of the historical collection of the National Center for the Visual Arts.

Standing 2.40 m tall, the work has been on display since 1878 at the Collège de France, where, beginning in the 1910s, it has occupied a central place in the main courtyard. It serves as a reminder that the Collège de France established France’s first chair of Egyptology in 1831 for Jean-François Champollion, and that its mission exemplifies the scholar’s spirit.

Exposed to the elements and severely deteriorated despite two successive restorations, the statue must now be moved to a covered and protected space. The city of Nogent-sur-Seine has put itself forward as a candidate to house the statue at the Camille Claudel Museum, which is dedicated to 19^th-century sculpture and public monuments of the Third Republic. The removal of the statue, a prerequisite for maintenance and restoration work, will take place on February 4, 2026.

This iconic statue will not leave the main courtyard of the Collège de France entirely: it will be replaced there by a resin replica, produced by the Prométhée workshop from a mold created by the Grand Palais RMN art workshops. The replica will be installed in the center of the main courtyard in June 2026.

The original work by Auguste Bartholdi will thus be on display in the region, while its replica will continue to evoke the special place held by the exceptional scholar Champollion, at the very spot where it was first installed at the Collège de France more than a century ago.

This project is part of the conservation and restoration policy that the Collège de France has been pursuing for several years, which aims to preserve, maintain, and better present to the public the exceptional works of art and architectural heritage that the institution possesses.

This conservation and restoration project for the statue of Jean-François Champollion was carried out with the support of the Louis Vicat Foundation, which works to safeguard cultural heritage and promote scientific culture.