Statue of Pericles, Palais des Arts, Marseille

What it is

This is a photograph by Robert Valette, taken on 22 October 2008, of a statue of Pericles on the main façade of the Palais des Arts in Marseille. The image shows a stone bust of a bearded man wearing a laurel wreath and draped garment, set in an arched niche on a pale building. Above it is a purple plaque reading 'ÉCOLE GRECQUE', and below is a Corinthian capital on a fluted column with a carved palm frond.

Why it matters

The statue is a later monument, not a work from Pericles' lifetime. Building façades in European cities often used figures from ancient Greece to link public institutions to classical ideals of learning, art and democracy. Pericles was often praised in later centuries as a patron of the arts, so he was a natural choice for such a display.

Look closer

• Why did the builders choose a figure from ancient Athens for this building?
• What does the plaque tell you about how the building wants to be understood?
• What does a later statue tell us about later people's view of Pericles, rather than about Pericles himself?