French 1918 Armistice celebrations of homecoming troops re-uniting with their loved ones. Sculpture on the Toulouse War Monument, by Camille Raynaud
A very moving bas-relief by sculptor Camille Raynaud which illustrates demobilized "Poilus" French infantry troops from the trenches who return to their families and loved ones in whole convoys. They are seen here as they descend from the train, crammed against each other. People embracing, a woman fainting, everyone totally elated with joy. The Monument aux Combattants de la Haute-Garonne is a monumental triumphal arch, commemorating the fallen and the heroes of World War I. It stands in the middle of the Allées Forain-François Verdier in Toulouse, France. Camille Raynaud is best known in Toulouse for being the author of two bas-reliefs adorning this war monument, including that of La Victoire, figured by a woman with a heavy physiognomy and tired by the years of struggle: it provoked a controversy in his time, criticized by associations of veterans but defended by Vincent Auriol, then deputy of Haute-Garonne, for the choice of a political representation of the victory after the Versailles treaty, namely the victory "as it was and not as it should have been. Budget constraints ended the debate and Raynaud's work was not changed. With this, his second bas-relief, 1918 or the Démobilisation, he composed a scene of jubilation and reunion after the armistice in an original framing tightened on the celebrating crowd of which he shows only the heads and arms.
Size: 3609px × 5195px
Location: Monument aux combattants de la Haute-Garonne, Allées Forain-François Verdier, Toulouse, France
Photo credit: © Wiskerke / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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