October 2nd 2017 | Public inauguration of the Arago statue

The inauguration of 2 October 2017. Back in pictures.

François Arago

François Arago (1786-1853), X 1803,was an astronomer, a physicist and a public figure. He joined the Paris Observatory in 1805 and after having worked his way up, he was appointed director in 1843. For his very first task (in 1806) he went to Spain with Jean-Baptiste Biot (X 1794). There, he worked on the establishment of the Paris meridian, as a result of which he was elected, at the age of 23, to the Academy of Sciences. He lectured at the École Polytechnique from 1809 to 1830, after which he entered the political arena.

In 1893, admiral Mouchez, at that time Director of the Observatory, initiated a public offer for subscription, in order to install a statue of Arago on the Île-de-Sein. The statue, created by Alexandre Oliva (1823-1890) and cast by Antoine Durenne, was inaugurated by Raymond Poincaré, minister for public education. Alas, it was melted down by the Germans in 1942 and all attempts to replace it have failed.

Created in May 2014 as a fresh tribute to Arago on the occasion of its 150th anniversary, the alumnni of the X (2015), of the 350th anniversary of the Academy of Sciences (2016) et de l’Observatoire de Paris (2017), the Ars Arago Society had the enterprising idea that, rather than remaking a copy, to create a new and original work of art by a contemporary artist. And so a jury, made up of personalities in the arts and sciences, was set up.

18 projects were submitted by French and foreign artists. Wim Delvoye, an important Belgian artist, was selected by the distinguished jury. Following discussion with the administrative authorities, it was decided to install the statue in the garden of the Paris Observatory, facing the Meridian, for whose creation Arago became famous while only 23 years old.

In this way, this coming October 2nd 2017 will restore the flouted memory of an eminent scientist and humanist.