The Vendôme Column in Paris, from the statue of Napoleon to its destruction in 1871

The original turns out not to differ greatly from its prototype, save for a somewhat enlarged viewing platform on the, er... summit of the column, and a statue of Napoleon set at the very top. Originally the place on the Place Vendôme was occupied by a monument to Louis XIV, which was pulled down. The 44-metre column with 76 bronze bas-reliefs was, according to legend, cast from Russian and Austrian cannon left on the field of Austerlitz. The first statue of Napoleon was removed from the top by the Allies who took Paris in 1814, and in its place they raised the lily banner of the Bourbons. The melted-down Napoleon turned into Henry IV. In 1833 the emperor would return to the column by decision of Louis-Philippe, and the new sculpture would prove so fine that in 1844 Napoleon III would order it moved to the shelter of the Hôtel des Invalides, close to the tomb of Napoleon I, and replaced with a copy. In 1870 Courbet began speaking of moving the Vendôme Column from the square to the same place, by the Invalides. His idea would receive an unexpected development: in 1871 the monument would be toppled and wrecked, its sculptures smashed and melted down. Parisians would have themselves photographed on the ruins and beside the empty pedestal.