AURICOSTASIS STATUES

A statue of Henri IV has stood in Place Soubeyran since 1954. Emmanuel Auricoste, a sculptor from the 1950s, chose to represent the king, charismatic warlord and defender of the Huguenots, but also the Gascon who drew his power from the land and provincial tradition. In Place des Cordeliers, the evocation of the Beast of Gévaudan, with its bronze plates welded together with protruding edges, conveys an impression of wild, disquieting strength. This statue is one of the most famous representations of the terrifying beast.