Statues - Hither & Thither

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Metz
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Esplanade

Le Poillu libérateur

The liberating Soldier

Henri Bouchard
Hohwiller (Paris)
1919 (1956)

Description

Statue of a common soldier.
On 7 January 1919 the first provisional monument was inaugurated on the site of the former monument to emperor William I. It was made in five days with plaster, wire, mesh and mops by Bouchard, then lieutenant in Metz. The German inscription is replaced by 'On les a' (we have tenm), which became the common name of the monument. Bouchard's work made of makeshift matarials did not withstand the bad weather and was in 1922 replaced by Emmanuel Hannaux's 'Liberator-Solider', which was destructed in 1945. Only in 1956 a new monument was erected by public subscription initiated by the Souvenir Français. The new monument was a cast by the founder Hohwiller of the original Bouchard monument.

Inscription(s)

AU POILU LIBERATEUR
le souvenir français de la moselle
1918

Signature

bouchard

Sculptor

Henri Bouchard (Dijon 1875 - Paris 1960), French sculptor (Wikipedia).

Sources & Information

e-Monumen.net, Monumen.
Wikipedia, Esplanade de Metz.

Locatie (N 49°6'59" - E 6°10'9") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

Item Code: frlo189; Photograph: 27 May 2019
Of each statue we made photos from various angles and also detail photos of the various texts.
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© Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt

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