Skip to main content

Secondary sourcePhotograph

Tomb of Descartes at Saint-Germain-des-Prés

PHGCOM

Photographs of Descartes's tomb in Paris, the final resting place of his remains after a long and disputed journey.

This is Descartes's final tomb in Paris, the end point of the contested journey of his remains after his death.

Ask Rene Descartes about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Two side-by-side photos of a church chapel tomb. Left: a bust on a dark tomb under a tall arched stained-glass window, with stone columns and a side pedestal. Right: a black marble slab with gilt Latin inscription lines between pink marble arches.
Tomb of René Descartes, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Paris. Photo by PHGCOM/World Imaging.

About this source

What it is

These two photographs show the tomb of René Descartes inside the church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris. One image shows the tomb with its bust beneath a stained-glass window; the other shows a close-up of the black marble slab with its gilded Latin inscription.

Why it matters

Descartes died in Sweden, and his remains traveled a long and complicated path before reaching this final burial site in Paris. The tomb reflects how later generations sought to reclaim him as a French national figure, long after his death.

Look closer

  • Why might it have mattered to bring Descartes's remains back to France?
  • What does the inscription, written in Latin, suggest about who the tomb was meant for?
  • What story does a tomb like this tell, compared to a diary or letter written during someone's life?

This photograph is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Rene Descartes on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Rene Descartes sources

Meet the AI Rene Descartes →
Title page of the 1637 first edition of Discours de la Methode, in old French printed type. Text reads Discours de la Methode, Pour bien conduire sa raison, & chercher la verite dans les sciences, plus La Dioptrique, Les Meteores, et La Geometrie, with a small woodcut emblem of a figure with a lantern in a laurel wreath, and imprint A Leyde, De l'Imprimerie de Ian Maire, 1637.Book

Primary source

Discourse on the Method

René Descartes · 1637

Title page of the 1641 Latin edition of Descartes' Meditationes de prima philosophia, printed in Paris by Michael Soly. Red and black type, with an engraved emblem of a phoenix rising from flames within a circle, and the date M.DC.XLI at the bottom.Book

Primary source

Meditations on First Philosophy

René Descartes · 1641

Title page of the 1637 first edition of Descartes' Discours de la Methode, in French. The text lists it with La Dioptrique, Les Meteores, and La Geometrie as essays of this method, printed at Leyde by Ian Maire. A small engraved vignette of a figure with a tree and landscape appears in the center.Document

Primary source

La Géométrie

René Descartes · 1637

Oil painting of a man with shoulder-length dark wavy hair, a thin mustache, and a white collar over a dark jacket, turning his head toward the viewer against a brown background, with one hand visible at the lower right.Painting

Primary source

Portrait of René Descartes

Frans Hals · 1649

Title page of a book reading 'Renati Des-Cartes Principia Philosophiae', with a Latin subtitle, an engraving of a winged figure and a robed figure beside a armillary sphere with banner 'Indefessus Agendo', an oval library stamp, and imprint 'Amstelodami, Ex Typographia Blaviana, MDCLXXXV'.Book

Primary source

Principles of Philosophy

René Descartes · 1644

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Rene Descartes now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions