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La Gloire tirant Auguste de Villiers de l'Isle Adam de son sommeil éternel

La Gloire tirant Auguste de Villiers de l'Isle Adam de son sommeil éternel is Frédéric Brou’s project for the funerary monument to Auguste de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam. Brou later produced several models for the memorial. A sculpture shown at the Salon des artistes français in 1907 depicts a nude woman tearing away the boards of Villiers de l’Isle-Adam’s coffin. One third-scale project is preserved at the Musée Carnavalet, and another, full-size execution model is held by the Musée d’art et d’histoire de Saint-Brieuc. The project was ultimately abandoned in 1910.

La Gloire shows a nude female figure pulling open a broken structure to reveal a bearded man inside, with fragments scattered below.
La Gloire by Frédéric Brou, showing a nude allegorical figure pulling open a broken structure to reveal a solemn bust within.
© Brou, Frédéric (Maurice, 11–12–1862 - en 1926), sculpteur · CC0
La Gloire sculpture showing a nude female figure pulling boards away from a coffin-shaped structure, revealing a male bust inside.
La Gloire, a sculpture in which a nude female figure pulls away the boards of a coffin-shaped form to reveal a male bust.
© · CC BY-SA 4.0
La Gloire, a nude figure pulling forcefully at a tall block that reveals a bearded man\'s profile.
La Gloire shows a nude figure straining against a tall block with a bearded profile.
April 2014 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
La Gloire sculpture showing a nude female figure reaching upward and pulling apart a tall structure with a man\'s bust at the top.
La Gloire, showing a nude female figure reaching upward beside a tall sculptural form topped by a man\'s bust.
April 2014 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
La Gloire showing a woman emerging from a broken coffin-like form as a nude figure reaches upward beside it.
La Gloire depicts a woman rising from a broken coffin-like structure, with a nude figure reaching upward beside her.
© Brou, Frédéric (Maurice, 11–12–1862 - en 1926), sculpteur · CC0

Identification

TitleLa Gloire tirant Auguste de Villiers de l'Isle Adam de son sommeil éternel
TypeProject for a funerary monument

Historical context

PurposeMemorial monument for Auguste de Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, a writer
Project statusA larger tomb monument was planned but definitively abandoned in 1910
Committee for the monumentA committee was formed to plan the larger tomb monument, with Jean Richepin as president and Auguste Blaizot as treasurer
Committee membersCountess A. de Chabanes-La Palice; Madame Daniel Lesueur; Judith Gautier; Countess Mathieu de Noailles; Princess Edmond de Polignac; R. Raoul-Duval; Duchess de Rohan; G. Roussel-Despierres; René Aubert; Léon Bloy; Jules Bois; Henry Bordeaux; René Boylesve; Adolphe Brisson; Count de Chabannes-La Palice; Armand Dayot; Ernest Delahaye; Lucien Descaves; Jean Destrem; Léon Dierx; Anatole France; Alexandre Georges; Louis de Garamont; Gustave Guiche; Edmond Haraucourt; Lucien Hubert; Gustave Kahn; Georges Lemaire; Count Léonce de Larmandie; Henri Lavedan; Pierre Louÿs; Maurice Maindron; Maurice Maeterlinck; Gustave de Malherbe; Paul Margueritte; René Martineau; Roger Marx; Massenet; Octave Mirbeau; Frédéric Mistral; Count Robert de Montesquiou-Fézensac; General Count du Pontavice de Heussey; Jacques Reboul; Henri de Régnier; Xavier de Ricard; Gustave Rouault; Camille de Sainte-Croix; Saint-Georges de Bouhélier; Saint-Saëns; Pierre Termier; Henri Turot; Alfred Vallette; Jean Veillon
Burial historyVilliers de l'Isle-Adam died on 18 August 1889, was buried three days later in the cimetière des Batignolles, and his remains were moved on 15 October 1895 to the 97th division of the cimetière du Père-Lachaise

Creator

ArtistFrédéric Brou
Related description byLéon Bloy

Discovery and provenance

Maquettes producedSeveral maquettes were produced for the monument
Exhibited atSalon des artistes français
Exhibition date1907
Museum modelsA one-third-scale model is in the Musée Carnavalet; another full-size execution model is in the Musée d'art et d'histoire de Saint-Brieuc

Physical characteristics

Tomb formA simple slab
Figures in the compositionAccording to Léon Bloy, the group consists of three figures: Glory (the exciter), Villiers awakening, and Death represented by the coffin
Depicted figureA nude woman
Depicted actionTearing open Villiers de l'Isle-Adam's coffin

Iconography and meaning

Personification of GloryLéon Bloy identified Glory with Tullia Fabriana, Claire Lenoir, Ellen, Morgane, Sara, and Akédysséril from Villiers's works

Location and ownership

Current model locationsMusée Carnavalet; Musée d'art et d'histoire de Saint-Brieuc
Burial sitePère-Lachaise Cemetery, 97th division

History and restoration

Critical receptionLéon Bloy praised the monument as a masterpiece; other committee members were more critical
Lucien Descaves's opinionHe criticized the effigy, saying the coffin was like a night watchman's sentry box and that Paris workshops were not a reason to make them guard great men
René Martineau's opinionA criticism was written by René Martineau, but the quotation is not included in the fragment
Tomb inaugurationThe new tomb at Père-Lachaise was inaugurated on 15 December 1895

Materials

MaterialVire granite

Appearance

Decorations on tombVilliers de l'Isle-Adam's coat of arms is engraved on the slab
InscriptionThe slab bears an inscription giving Villiers de l'Isle-Adam's birth at Saint-Brieuc on 7 November 1838 and death in Paris on 18 August 1889

Other

Artwork files mentioned"À la mémoire d'Auguste Villiers de L'Isle-Adam" (profile, bust, foot, and overall views), by Frédéric-Jean Brou, 1906