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Gloria Victis

Gloria Victis is a sculpture by Antonin Mercié created after France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. It honors fallen French soldiers, especially Mercié’s friend Henri Regnault. The work shows a winged female allegorical figure of Fame or Hope carrying a dying French hero upward, while his broken sword symbolizes defeat. Mercié altered the hero’s head from lifted to fallen after France’s defeat. The original plaster version won a medal at the 1874 Paris Salon, and bronze casts were later made by Ferdinand Barbedienne in different sizes and finishes. Examples are held at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, in Bordeaux facing Saint André’s Cathedral, and at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen.

Gloria Victis bronze sculpture of a winged female figure carrying a fallen male warrior on a pedestal.
Gloria Victis by Antonin Mercié, showing a winged female figure lifting a wounded warrior.
© Mercié, Antonin (Toulouse, 30–10–1845 - Paris, 13–12–1916), sculpteur · CC0
Gloria Victis bronze sculpture showing a winged figure carrying a limp warrior with an outstretched arm.
Gloria Victis, Antonin Mercié’s bronze sculpture, depicts a winged figure lifting a fallen warrior.
© Mercié, Antonin (Toulouse, 30–10–1845 - Paris, 13–12–1916), sculpteur · CC0
Gloria Victis bronze sculpture showing a winged figure supporting a dying warrior against a marbled wall.
Gloria Victis, a bronze sculpture by Antonin Mercié, shown with a winged figure lifting a wounded warrior.
© Mercié, Antonin (Toulouse, 30–10–1845 - Paris, 13–12–1916), sculpteur · CC0
Close-up of Gloria Victis showing a winged bronze figure leaning over a wounded warrior with a sword.
A close-up detail of Antonin Mercié’s Gloria Victis bronze sculpture.
© Mercié, Antonin (Toulouse, 30–10–1845 - Paris, 13–12–1916), sculpteur · CC0
Close-up of the Gloria Victis bronze sculpture showing an owl perched on a leafy branch beneath draped forms.
Detail of Gloria Victis, showing an owl perched on a branch beneath the sculpture’s draped bronze forms.
© Mercié, Antonin (Toulouse, 30–10–1845 - Paris, 13–12–1916), sculpteur · CC0

Identification

TitleGloria Victis
Typegroup sculpture
Title translationGlory to the vanquished

Creator

ArtistAntonin Mercié
Artist nationalityFrench

Historical context

Date1872
Historical contextCreated in response to France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71
PurposeA tribute to the young men who died defending France in the Franco-Prussian War, and to glorify patriotism
Historical associationClosely associated with French remembrance of the Franco-Prussian War
Political significanceOne of the best-known visual manifestations of the French revanchist movement until the end of the First World War

Discovery and provenance

Bordeaux cast placementFaces Saint André's Cathedral
Placed in Auteuil depot1934
Current locationKept at the Petit Palais since 1976
Other castsMany casts exist, including casts in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Bordeaux, France; and the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen cast statusThe only signed cast made for a location outside France and the only one commissioned by a non-governmental institution
Copenhagen cast placementOverlooks the museum's Winter Garden
Approval of city copiesAll were approved and signed by Antonin Mercié himself
Additional castOne further cast was commissioned in 1906 for the Glyptotek in Copenhagen
RelocationMoved to the courtyard of honour of the Hôtel de Ville in 1884
Later assignmentAssigned to the Petit Palais in 1930
City copiesCopies were commissioned for Niort (1881), Bordeaux (1883), Châlons-sur-Marne / Châlons-en-Champagne (1890), and Cholet (1901) as local memorials to the war dead
Installation date at Place Montholon1879
Bronze castingBronze copies were cast in different sizes by Thiébaut Frères / Thiébaut and sons, and reproduced in several casts with different finishes
PurchasePurchased by the Paris Prefecture of the Department of the Seine, including the cast and copyright, to decorate a public square in Paris
ReceptionIt won great success at the 1874 Salon and was well received by the French public
AwardHonour medal at the 1874 Paris Salon
Exhibited in Paris1873 at the Salon de Paris
Original model exhibited1873 under the loggia of the Villa Medici in Rome
Creator status at completionAntonin Mercié was living in Rome as a pensioner
Place of creationVilla Medici, Rome
Original model materialplaster
Original bronze locationPlace Montholon, Paris

Physical characteristics

PoseThe soldier's lower limbs are almost crossed and his arms are spread apart; the winged figure's heel is raised, with only the tip touching the ground
MaterialPlaster version; bronze casts
HeightNot specified in the source
Winged figure attireThe winged figure wears a cuirass
Figure identityThe winged figure is Glory or Fame (possibly Hope), and the male figure is a young naked soldier who has just died
CompositionA winged female allegorical figure carrying a dying young warrior
Figure attributesThe soldier has a bandaged forehead, holds a broken sword in his right hand, and raises his left arm toward the sky

Technique

Alteration made by the artistAfter France's defeat, Mercié changed the hero's head from lifted to fallen

Appearance

Symbolic objectsAn olive branch symbolizes peace
Symbolic animalAn owl symbolizes the wisdom of Athena, goddess of war

Iconography and meaning

Related artistic traditionFound in numerous victory allegories from the 17th to the 19th century
Interpretation of soldier's poseOften described as an allusion to the pose of Christ in Peter Paul Rubens' The Descent from the Cross (1612–14, Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp) and described as more active than passive
Pose influenceThe pose of Gloria recalls Raphael's figure 'i'
Compositional influenceThe dynamic composition recalls Giambologna's The Rape of the Sabine Women
Stylistic influencesFlorentine Renaissance and the work of Benvenuto Cellini
Interpretation of titleAn inversion of the Roman phrase Vae Victis, meaning 'Woe to the vanquished'; the title is also rendered as 'Honor to the defeated'
Interpretation by University of Clermont-FerrandThe message was that those defeated were nevertheless cared for and granted immortality
Interpretation of poseThe soldier's pose has been read as Christ-like, evoking the Descent from the Cross and suggesting martyrdom, resurrection, and possible future victory
Intended meaningTo honor French soldiers who fell in the conflict, especially Mercié's friend Henri Regnault (1843–1871)
Overall symbolismThe group personifies defeated but heroic France
SymbolismThe broken sword symbolizes defeat

Significance

InfluenceInspired several artists in commemorative monuments to the Franco-Prussian War and influenced Auguste Rodin's design for La Défense de Paris
Related later work by artistMercié returned to this formula in his 1882 Belfort war memorial, nicknamed Still

Other

Pariser Gemeinderat statementIn 1881, the Paris municipal council declared that the sculpture belonged to all of France and was not merely a work of art but a national work capable of awakening and developing patriotic feelings in the French people