A bust of Fryderyk Chopin has been unveiled in Nohant-Vic, central France, where the Polish composer spent much time in the summer residence of the writer George Sand.

The bust is the work of the veteran Polish sculptor, 96-year-old Adam Roman of the Fine Arts Academy in Warsaw, and it is placed on a high pedestal, forming a two-metre high monument.

It was funded by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage as part of the celebrations of the Chopin Year, the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth.

The unveiling ceremony was attended by representatives of the French Senate and the local authorities.

The monument is the first material trace of Chopin’s presence in Nohant in 160 years, as the former residence of George Sand, now housing a museum of the life and work, contains no Chopin memorabilia, as they were all removed by the writer after her affair with Chopin came to an end.

The composer visited George Sand in Nohant seven times between 1839 and 1846, and wrote many of his major works there, including the Sonata in B flat minor (with the Funeral March) and his last nocturnes. (mk/jb)

Source: PAP