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The church of Ste-Geneviève had been subjected to several secularisation to become a Panthéon français, a public building containing tombs of or memorials to the heroes of the Revolution. The commission for the new pediment was given in 1830.
David d'Angers places the allegorical figure of Patria in the centre. On her right sits Liberté, handing to her the crowns to be awarded to the great men. Seated opposite her, Histoire notes in the book of history the names of those thus distinguished. Whereas she is surrounded by numerous people representing French culture and intellectual history, the other side of the pediment contains French military figures, none of whom carries individual features except Napoleon Bonaparte, who is singled out in this way.
The façade bore the inscription "To Great Men. A Grateful Fatherland."
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