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Patrimoine & Culture
Statue et place Diderot
📍 Langres, Haute-Marne
· 52200 Langres
À propos
Langres, birthplace of philosopher Denis Diderot
Langres? most illustrious philosopher is certainly Denis Diderot, born in 1713 at no. 9 on the square that now bears his name.
The son of a renowned master cutler, he was educated at the Jesuit College. Diderot grew up in a family of seven children, including Didier, a future canon; Angélique, a nun at the Ursulines; and Denise, known as "s?urette", who helped him keep in touch with his father and, above all, his brother.
His father would have liked him to take holy orders, but Denis, unlike his brother, did not follow this path. At the age of 15, he refused his father?s succession and his uncle?s canonical seat, and left to pursue his studies in Paris at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand.
When he turned away from the orders, his father cut him off. He became a public writer and worked in a variety of professions for some fifteen years. To make a living, he translated from English into French. An eclectic and prolific writer, he ventured into all genres: philosophy, novels, theater and art criticism. Criticizing intolerance and rejecting the authority of traditional morality, he fought - along with others - for the triumph of Reason and the universality of human happiness.
His masterly and astonishingly modern work remains the Encyclopédie, a veritable monument and victory of human knowledge, of which he was the relentless master-builder for over two decades (between 1746 and 1766).
Diderot and his city
"For me, I'm from my country", he used to say.
The Langres region is proud to be the birthplace of a man who, along with Voltaire and Rousseau, was one of the leading figures of the Age of Enlightenment. Diderot only returned to his home town 5 times. Too small for him, his ambition and destiny lay elsewhere. An eclectic and prolific writer, he ventured into all genres: philosophy, novels, theater and art criticism. Criticizing intolerance, rejecting the authority of traditional morality and condemning torture, he fought - along with others - for the triumph of reason and the universality of human happiness.
An ardent heart and an innovative spirit, his remarks on Langres and the Langrois people are lively and contradictory. If, from the Blanchefontaine promenade, his eyes "wander over the most beautiful landscape in the world", he says of his compatriots that they "have spirit, education, gaiety, vivacity and a drawl, they have books, they read and produce nothing"?
Place Diderot
For a long time, the former Place Chambeau backed onto the Lower-Empire wall. Before today's rue Leclerc was built in 1612, the ancient Gallo-Roman cardo - the north-south axis of today's rue Diderot - was interrupted here.
In 1884, to mark the centenary of his death, the square was renamed after him and a statue erected. Designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, it stands on a pedestal listing the main contributors to the encyclopaedic project.
DIDEROT in brief:
october 5, 1713: Birth in the house on Place Chambeau, no. 9 of today?s Place Diderot.
1723 ? 1728 : Studies at the Jesuit College. Denis is a brilliant student.
1728: Diderot leaves Langres for Paris, where he continues his studies and settles permanently.
Diderot remained very attached to his family and to his native country, which exerted a mysterious attraction on him. He returned several times, notably in 1759, after the death of his father. In 1770, he stayed in Bourbonne-les-Bains.
1781: He presented the town of Langres with his bronze bust, modeled by Houdon.
july 31, 1784: Diderot dies.
DIDEROT, in a few titles
- The Encyclopedia
- Letters to Sophie Volland
- Philosophical Thoughts
- Letter on the Blind
- Thoughts on the Interpretation of Nature
- La Religieuse
- Essays on Painting and Salons
- Rameau's Nephew
- The Paradox of the Comedian
- Jacques le Fataliste
Langres? most illustrious philosopher is certainly Denis Diderot, born in 1713 at no. 9 on the square that now bears his name.
The son of a renowned master cutler, he was educated at the Jesuit College. Diderot grew up in a family of seven children, including Didier, a future canon; Angélique, a nun at the Ursulines; and Denise, known as "s?urette", who helped him keep in touch with his father and, above all, his brother.
His father would have liked him to take holy orders, but Denis, unlike his brother, did not follow this path. At the age of 15, he refused his father?s succession and his uncle?s canonical seat, and left to pursue his studies in Paris at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand.
When he turned away from the orders, his father cut him off. He became a public writer and worked in a variety of professions for some fifteen years. To make a living, he translated from English into French. An eclectic and prolific writer, he ventured into all genres: philosophy, novels, theater and art criticism. Criticizing intolerance and rejecting the authority of traditional morality, he fought - along with others - for the triumph of Reason and the universality of human happiness.
His masterly and astonishingly modern work remains the Encyclopédie, a veritable monument and victory of human knowledge, of which he was the relentless master-builder for over two decades (between 1746 and 1766).
Diderot and his city
"For me, I'm from my country", he used to say.
The Langres region is proud to be the birthplace of a man who, along with Voltaire and Rousseau, was one of the leading figures of the Age of Enlightenment. Diderot only returned to his home town 5 times. Too small for him, his ambition and destiny lay elsewhere. An eclectic and prolific writer, he ventured into all genres: philosophy, novels, theater and art criticism. Criticizing intolerance, rejecting the authority of traditional morality and condemning torture, he fought - along with others - for the triumph of reason and the universality of human happiness.
An ardent heart and an innovative spirit, his remarks on Langres and the Langrois people are lively and contradictory. If, from the Blanchefontaine promenade, his eyes "wander over the most beautiful landscape in the world", he says of his compatriots that they "have spirit, education, gaiety, vivacity and a drawl, they have books, they read and produce nothing"?
Place Diderot
For a long time, the former Place Chambeau backed onto the Lower-Empire wall. Before today's rue Leclerc was built in 1612, the ancient Gallo-Roman cardo - the north-south axis of today's rue Diderot - was interrupted here.
In 1884, to mark the centenary of his death, the square was renamed after him and a statue erected. Designed by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, it stands on a pedestal listing the main contributors to the encyclopaedic project.
DIDEROT in brief:
october 5, 1713: Birth in the house on Place Chambeau, no. 9 of today?s Place Diderot.
1723 ? 1728 : Studies at the Jesuit College. Denis is a brilliant student.
1728: Diderot leaves Langres for Paris, where he continues his studies and settles permanently.
Diderot remained very attached to his family and to his native country, which exerted a mysterious attraction on him. He returned several times, notably in 1759, after the death of his father. In 1770, he stayed in Bourbonne-les-Bains.
1781: He presented the town of Langres with his bronze bust, modeled by Houdon.
july 31, 1784: Diderot dies.
DIDEROT, in a few titles
- The Encyclopedia
- Letters to Sophie Volland
- Philosophical Thoughts
- Letter on the Blind
- Thoughts on the Interpretation of Nature
- La Religieuse
- Essays on Painting and Salons
- Rameau's Nephew
- The Paradox of the Comedian
- Jacques le Fataliste
