France Post has released a set of seven definitive stamps featuring an updated version of the French symbol Marianne. The stamps bear a new image of Marianne that was designed by street artist Yseult Yz (real name Yseult Digan). Following recent tradition, the president selected the stamp design from a group of competing contenders. The winning design depicts Marianne in profile, with ringlets of hair streaming behind her, as she wears the traditional “Phrygian cap of liberty” and rosette.
Marianne is the national symbol of the French Republic that embodies liberty, democracy and reason. The portrait symbolizes modernity and youth and its contemporary representation reflects the aesthetics of street art. The image of Marianne first appeared in antiquity when the democracy was already represented as having a woman’s face. She often appears wearing a helmet and bearing arms, like Athena of Greece.
“She seems driven by an impulse, a desire to act to move the lines,” according to Yseult Yz. “She derives her beauty from her courage, independence and energy.”
It will be the 30th depiction of the French national symbol to appear on a stamp. You may also look at the previous stamp releases by La Poste devoted to Marianne.
