Monument de Jean Colardeau

English translation

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History

The monument to the poet Jean Colardeau (1732-1776), son of Charles-Pierre Colardeau, the collector of the salt tax warehouse in Janville, was erected on a vast esplanade which today bears the name of place d'Orléans and which is extended by the mall Colardeau. The monument is installed at the opening of the rue de la Porte d'Orléans and built on a base sculpted in stone. Celebrated during his lifetime as one of the greatest French poets of the second half of the 18th century, he died on 7 April 1776 in Paris. The fashion for representations of illustrious persons allowed this son of the country to be honoured in his native village. At the end of 1900, the municipal council of Janville examined the offer from the mayor of Bondy, a descendant of the poet who was offering 300 francs to the commune to erect a bronze bust. In February 1901, the municipality adjourned the project but in May, the local newspaper, Le Réveil de Janville, revived the initiative by launching a public subscription sponsored by the town hall, directed by a local committee and a Paris committee, presided over by an honorary committee which included among its members the sculptor Eugène Guillaume (1822-1905) and the deputy Gustave Lhopiteau (1860-1941). It was therefore in the second half of 1901 or at the beginning of 1902 that Raoul Brandon (1878-1941), architect from Chartres, was entrusted with the project which he designed in a very theatrical atmosphere. At the end of August 1903, the architect sent the final plans to the mayor, work was begun and the monument was inaugurated on 29 May 1904.