Victor Noir’s grave in Père-Lachaise cemetery by Patrick Magaud, 1984

Victor Noir’s grave in Père-Lachaise cemetery by Patrick Magaud, 1984

Victor Noir’s grave in Père-Lachaise cemetery by Patrick Magaud, 1984.

Noir is perhaps more famous for his death and grave than work. He was a journalist who was shot dead. A life-sized bronze statue was sculpted by Jules Dalou to mark his grave, portrayed in a realistic style as though he had just fallen on the street, dropping his hat which is depicted beside him. The sculpture has a very noticeable protuberance in Noir's trousers. This has made it one of the most popular memorials for women to visit in the famous cemetery. Myth says that placing a flower in the upturned top hat after kissing the statue on the lips and rubbing its genital area will enhance fertility, bring a blissful sex life, or, in some versions, a husband within the year. As a result of the legend, those particular components of the otherwise verdigris (grey-green oxidized bronze) statue are rather well-worn and shiny.
A provocative statue Against expectations, it wasnt his death or the political consequences of the shooting that made Victor Noir famous. It was his grave. Twenty years after Noirs death, in 1891, following the establishment of the Third French Republic, the body of Victor Noir was moved from his hometown to Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris to honor his name and memory. A renowned French sculptor, Jules Dalou, was given the job of creating the sculpture in bronze for Noir`s grave.

Dalou chose to depict Victor Noir at the moment of his death, lying flat on the ground after he was shot. For reasons unknown, he decided to give the sculpture a noticeable bulge under the belt which triggered the formation of a really bizarre myth that over time made Victor Noir`s tomb a symbol of fertility and sexual happiness.
Becoming a fertility symbol It is believed that if a woman kisses the statue of Victor Noir on the lips, rubs the bulge in his trousers and drops a flower in his hat it will bring her enhanced fertility, and a blissful sex life. More specifically - if you want to find a beautiful lover, you should kiss Noir`s lips; if you want to get pregnant, you should touch his right foot; and if you want to have twins, you should touch his left foot. According to the myth, a baby will follow soon after and single ladies will find a husband within the year.
The statue itself is a living proof that people take this myth very seriously. Victor Noir’s lips, groin and shoes are shiny, while the rest of his body has the usual greenish tone of oxidized bronze. That is why in 2004 a fence was placed around the statue of Noir with a warning sign: “Any damage caused by graffiti or indecent rubbing will be prosecuted.” But this agitated so many women that the fence was soon torn down.
Today, women who have fallen pregnant after visiting Victor Noir`s grave return to the cemetery in gratitude and put photos of their children and other objects in the hat near the statue.
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