The War Memorial combines opposing dynamics, managing to simultaneously create momentum and contain its zeal. All at the same time, Bourdelle evokes the Marseillaise (1833-1836) by François Rude, La Danse (1867-1869) by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux and The Call to Arms (1879) by Auguste Rodin.
The Screaming Heads sum up the essence of the definitive monument. Presented as a stand-alone fragment at the Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1899, they are a précis of the sculpture in situ. While two of them (Suffering and Death) are at rest, deserted by life, the third head (the heroic, front-facing Horror) tries to break the silence. Open-mouthed, he screams under the weight of his suffering. Do his eyes, repulsed by the sight of “the unique accumulation of mass graves”, beg for our help or our indulgence?
These edifying figures are no longer the preserve of war alone. This is shown by the variations in the work's title. These immortal heads are infused with dread. A dread that immobilises and deprives of words. A dread that petrifies.
Colin Lemoine
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