The famous bronze statue of Victor Noir lying on the catafalque at Pere-Lachaise cemetery

The bronze statue of Victor Noir, a French journalist killed in 1870 by Prince Pierre Bonaparte, cousin of Napoleon III. The work by Jules Dalou depicts him lying on the ground in the instant after the fatal shot, with his hat fallen beside him and clothes disheveled. The statue has become the object of a curious superstition: it is said that touching certain parts of the body brings luck in love and fertility. For this reason, some areas of the bronze are polished by the continuous rubbing of visitors. Victor Noir became a symbol of opposition to the Second Empire and his funeral was attended by over 100,000 people.

Victor Noir, statue, bronze, Pere-Lachaise, Dalou, superstition, journalist