Victor Noir, journalist—and fertility symbol (27)

The bronze book I recently proofread mentioned the grave of Victor Noir (1848–70) in Père Lachaise Cemetery, in the context of patina—as in, what repeated touching will do to verdigris. There, the boots are noted especially for the shiny bronze surface. But a glance at a photo of the full effigy draws attention to a different part of his anatomy. 

Noir was a journalist who was shot dead by Prince Pierre Bonaparte, a cousin of the French emperor Napoleon III, over a dispute launched by two Corsican newspapers, one radical republican, the other loyal to the emperor. The details aren’t important—they involve, ultimately, disrespect of the emperor’s great-uncle, Napoleon Bonaparte, and a duel that didn’t quite happen. But when the prince was acquitted of the murder, a public outcry ensued, and on the occasion of Noir’s funeral, over 100,000 joined the procession to the cemetery in his hometown of Neuilly. 

Attendance was a badge of honor for republicans. Nine months later, the Franco-Prussian War led to the overthrow of the emperor’s regime and the establishment of the Third Republic.

In 1891, Noir’s body was moved to Père Lachaise, where his tomb was topped by a life-size effigy by sculptor Aimé-Jules Dalou. It was created in realistic style, as if Noir had just been felled by the prince’s bullet. He lies prone, his top hat knocked from his head. The sculpture has a visible prominence in his trousers. A myth accordingly arose: that kissing his lips, rubbing his groin, and dropping a flower in his hand or hat will bring women fertility and a blissful sex life; if a woman wants to get pregnant, she should rub his left foot, and if she wants twins, his right. 

In 2004, cemetery authorities erected a fence around the grave, together with a sign—“Any damage caused by graffiti or indecent rubbing will be prosecuted”—but the women of Paris, led by a female TV anchor, rose up in protest and the fence was removed. Today, women who become pregnant after a visit to Noir’s grave will return and leave pictures of their children and other objects. 

Move over, Jim Morrison. Never mind Molière, Apollinaire, and Honoré de Balzac, Edith Piaf, Yves Montand, and Simone Signoret, Isadora Duncan and Sarah Bernhardt, Maria Callas and Marcel Marceau, Francis Poulenc and Georges Bizet, Gertrude Stein and Richard Wright, Modigliani, Pissarro, and Seurat. Héloise and Abelard! And with that I'm only halfway through a list of the 101 famous graves in Père Lachaise. Victor Noir is #29, sandwiched between Colette and Luigi Cherubini. Not bad company at all.