The Komitas monument in Paris

The monument to Komitas, the Armenian composer and musicologist, in Paris is also a memorial to the victims of the Armenian Genocide. It stands in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, near the Cours Albert Premier, close to the Élysée Palace and the French Ministry of the Interior. The small adjacent garden was renamed the “Garden of Yerevan” in 2009.

The 6-metre bronze statue was created by the Armenian sculptor and architect David Erevantzi. Komitas is shown in monastic robes, and a child’s head seems to emerge from the body of the statue, symbolising the rebirth of the Armenian people. The monument was unveiled by the Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, on 24 April 2003.

The pedestal bears an inscription in French and Armenian: “In tribute to Komitas, composer, musicologist, and to the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 perpetrated in the Ottoman Empire.”