Genesis of the project

In fact, Bartholdi did not create the Lion specifically for the Belfort monument. On October 30, 1863, the city of Paris had launched a competition for the creation of a commemorative monument honoring the defense of Paris during the 1814 siege. Bartholdi participated but was not selected. Nevertheless, he did not abandon the project and set it aside for future development.

Preserved at the Musée de Colmar are two terracotta sketches, a plaster maquette, and two photographs that testify to this unawarded group, dated 1864 and dedicated “To the Defenders of Paris 1814”:

Auguste Bartholdi, Projet d'un monument aux défenseurs de paris, 1814,
maquette, plâtre teinté, 18,0 x 18,5 x 10,8 cm, Musée Bartholdi,
Colmar, Inv. SB 162

Initially aggressive, the animal, imagined alternately walking, lying down, standing upright, or reclining, gradually gained serenity without losing any of the strength that inhabits it:

Auguste Bartholdi, *Premier Projet du*
*Monument aux défenseurs de Belfort*,
1872, Relief sur fond à
l'imitation du roc de la citadelle,
lion en ronde-bosse, plâtre teinté,
64 x 48 x 30 cm,
Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Belfort

Auguste Bartholdi, *Deuxième Projet en toile peinte*,
1872, papier albuminé, marouflé sur support cartonné,
Musée Bartholdi, Colmar, Inv. 3PI/58

*Enveloppe au timbre du comité de souscriptition visualisant le troisième projet*,
1873, papier brun, 11,0 x 14,1 cm,
Bibliothèque municipale, Colmar, Inv. A 134

Auguste Bartholdi, *Quatrième Projet*, 1873, relief sur fond à l'imitation
du roc de la citadelle, terre cuite,
25,0 x 24,5 x 14,4 cm, Musée Bartholdi, Colmar, Inv. SB 331

To create his Lion, Bartholdi also conducted several anatomical studies. The intention was to render the animal as realistically as possible.