Statue des Frères de Maistre

A statue of the Maistre brothers, carved by Dubois in 1899.

In 1899, the sculptor Ernest Dubois carved a statue of the Maistre brothers, at the request of the Académie de Savoie. These two Chambéry natives were famous in their time: Joseph de Maistre (1753 - 1821) became a lawyer. A staunch monarchist, he emigrated to Lausanne in September 1792, when the revolutionary French troops arrived. He became known thanks to his 'Considérations sur la France' (1797). Named the ambassador to St Petersburg by King Victor Emmanuel I, Joseph Maistre was joined in Russia by his brother Xavier, and wrote 'Les soirées de Saint-Petersburg'. His younger brother, Xavier de Maistre (1763-1852), is famous for his 'Voyage autour de ma chambre', a novella written in 1787 during his 42-day imprisonment in Turin. After a long stay in Italy, he died in St Petersburg.