Monument aux morts de la guerre 1914-1918

English translation

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History

The war memorial of Mur-de-Barrez is built against a building constructed in 1921 in order to house the municipal services, this building itself built against the old gate of the town, classified as a historic monument in 1913 and transformed for a time into a town hall. These works were authorized by the minister of instruction and fine arts in 1921, after having received a favorable opinion from the architect of the department and historic monuments, Casimir Croizet (Aurillac) on the project of the architect Eugène Vergnes (Paris and Villefranche-de-Rouergue). The commission for a bronze high relief was placed in 1922 with the sculptor Joseph Grandet, originally from Rodez. He was the pupil of Antonin Mercié and Denys Puech at the school of fine arts in Paris, then was a practitioner of Puech. The works of the war memorial were received on 30 October 1923.

Description

The war memorial at Mur-de-Barrez consists of a high relief in bronze approximately 3.50 m high, framed by two pillars of black Volvic stone. The soldier is depicted facing forward, in the middle of a trench, arms outstretched, hands open gripping the ground. Helmeted, he is clothed in his greatcoat. His face is closed and severe. Beneath his outstretched arms, the names of the 65 dead are inscribed. In the background, the ruins of a church and barbed wire are represented in low relief. The soldier is here depicted like Christ on the cross, come to earth to save the Fatherland. His expression and the movement of his hands express all the sufferings of the soldiers. The list of the dead is engraved directly in the bronze.