HD photographs of Monument a la Gloire des Armees Francaises de 1914-1918 in Paris - Page 18
We were in the 16th Arrondissement at the Place du Trocadero, when we took these high definition photos showing the Monument a la Gloire des Armees Francaises de 1914-1918, which was sculpted by Paul Landowski.
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This first HD photo shows the main part of the Monument a la Gloire des Armees Francaises de 1914-1918, which in English translates to Monument to the Glory of the French Armies of 1914 -1918, relating to those that were heroes and those that died during World War I.
So here you can see a panoramic photograph showing the entire length of the wall and the monument that has an inscription on either side of the statue group, which is actually positioned against the wall of the Passy Cemetery at the Place du Trocadero in the 16th Arrondissement of Paris, close to the Palais de Chaillot.
Now this image shows a close up of the larger than life central figure of the statue group, which is an allegory of a female figure holding a shield and representing France, and although a competition was first launched in 1937 for a monument to be placed in this location, it did not get realised until after World War II.
In fact, the National Committee of the Monument to the Glory of the French Infantry, now known as CNM, requested permission from the Prefect of the Seine to erect a monument at the Place du Trocadero, leaning on the wall of the cemetery of Passy and a competition for the design of this was launched on 24th February 1937.
The winners of this competition were the French sculptor Louis Henri Bouchard and the architect Albert Drouet, and along with other contestants, their models for the Monument a la Gloire des Armees Francaises de 1914-1918 were put on display at the Grand Palais for a few days at the end of November that year.
Eventually the project was authorised to start in the July of 1939, but by December the area had not been prepared for the monument, including moving a sewer, but then came World War II, so the original monument was delayed indefinitely, and it was only through a letter in 1950 from the Director of Fine Arts expressing the need to re-launch the product for a monument, that this started to happen.
Even though the original monument was designed to be in recognition of the French Infantry, it was then decided that this would become the Monument to the Glory of the French Armies during the First World War, rather than one specific division, yet at this time it was also decided the original designs by Louis Henri Bouchard were too ambitious and too expensive
So a completely new design was drawn up, which also included someone who had died for their country, being held by another female figure, as you can see in this close up photo above.
So here you can see the inscription on the base of the monument, which was eventually commissioned by the CMN to the sculptor Paul Landowski who was born in Paris in 1875 and studying to become a French sculptor, he won the Prix de Rome in 1900, and started to become well recognised, not just in France, but also throughout the world with his monuments.
In fact, other works by Paul Landowski can be found in Paris such as The Sons of Cain and the statue of Saint Genevieve, however, some of his most famous works include the Reformation Wall in Geneva, Monument to Victory in Morocco, and Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, all of which were produced several years before he was commissioned for the Monument to the Glory of the French Armies.
Therefore it is understandable why Paul Landowski became such a world renowned artist and eventually in 1953 it was agreed that the monument itself would be paid for by the Committee, CMN, yet restoration work on the retaining wall of the Passy Cemetery was to be paid for by the City of Paris.
This photograph shows a wreaths laid at the base of the Monument a la Gloire des Armees Francaises de 1914-1918, with the colours of the French Flag on the ribbons and the top one stating Mayor of Paris, which is a theme you will often see at the base of many different monuments in Paris.
And although the project was confirmed on 30th March 1953, then the design by Paul Landowski was approved on 12th October 1953, with the proposal of the monument being published on 26th October that same year, due to the works required by the City of Paris, the first stone was not laid until 11th November 1954.
However, the entire Monument to the Glory of French Armies was only inaugurated by the President of the French Republic, Rene Coty on 13th May 1956, which is an impressive length of 216.5 metres with two inscriptions, which read A Nos Heros to the left of the statue group and on the right, which you can see in this photograph is A Nos Morts.
Yet here is another image showing the statue group at just over 5 metres in height for the Monument a la Gloire des Armees Francaises de 1914-1918 by Paul Landowski, which looked in poorer condition when we first visited this, compared to only three years later, where it looked like it was very well maintained as a permanent reminder of those that fought for France in World War I.
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