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 Le monument aux morts - Bastia, France Posted by:  Alfouine
N 42° 42.086 E 009° 27.091
32T E 536979 N 4727759
Du côté nord de la place Saint-Nicolas se trouve le monument aux morts. Il est l'oeuvre de deux artistes bastiais. La sculpture a été commandée par la ville de Bastia à Louis Patriarche en 1920. Elle est inaugurée en 1925.
Waymark Code: WM14FX0
Location: Corse, France
Date Posted: 07/01/2021
Views: 10
On the north side of the Saint-Nicolas square is the monument to the dead. It is the work of two Bastian artists. The sculpture was commissioned by the city of Bastia to Louis Patriarche in 1920. It was inaugurated in 1925.
MONUMENT AUX MORTS
Sign content
A partir de 1895, on souhaite ériger un grand monument aux morts de la guerre de 1870 sur la place Saint-Nicolas. Divers projets sont envisagés puis abandonnés. En 1912, les sculpteurs bastiais Louis Patriarche (1872-1955) et Jean-Mathieu Pekle (1868-1956) se voient officiellement confier une commande. Patriarche est chargé d'exécuter les statues monumentales et Pekle les bas-reliefs du socle. En 1913, une maquette de style Art Nouveau est présentée, mais la guerre de 1914-1918 éclate et le projet est repoussé.
La Grande Guerre fait payer à la Corse un tribut de 11 000 morts, l'idée d'un monument commémoratif s'impose. En 1920, la Ville recontacte les sculpteurs Patriarche et Pekle et leur passe commande. Le monument est terminé en 1925. Le groupe sculpté sommital évoque un passage de l'histoire corse du XVI I I° siècle. Il symbolise le sacrifice patriotique corse en représentant une veuve qui, ayant déjà perdu deux fils au combat durant la guerre d'indépendance, vient elle-même apporter son dernier et jeune fils au général Pascal Paoli. Au revers du socle, un bas-relief de Jean-Mathieu Peckle figure le «vàceru», lamentation funèbre traditionnelle improvisée par une ou plusieurs femmes devant le corps d'une personne décédée. Le socle d'origine, constitué d'un grand bloc de roche brute, est jugé inesthétique et indigne des lieux. En 1929 on décide de le changer. On commande un socle, de style Art Déco, à l'architecte bastiais Simon-François Fratacci. Il est inauguré en 1935.
WAR MEMORIAL
A wish to build a great memorial to the dead of 1870 on the Place Saint Nicolas had been expressed since 1895. Various projects had been considered, and then given up. In 1912, the sculptors Louis Patriarche (1872-1955) and Jean-Mathieu Pekle (1868-1956), from Bastia, received an official order. Patriarche was charged to make the monumental statues and Pekle the bas-reliefs of the base. In 1913 an Art Nouveau model was presented, but the war broke out and the project was postponed.
The Great War has taken a heavy toll on Corsica with 11,000 dead. The idea of a memorial became obvious. In 1920, the city officials got in touch again with Patriarche and Pekle and ordered the monument, which was finished in 1925. The group on the top is a reference to an episode in the history of Corsica in the 18th century. It symbolizes the patriotic sacrifice of Corsica by representing a widow who, having already lost two sons in the struggle for Corsican independence comes to offer her last boy to general Pascal Paoli. In the back of the base a bas relief by Jean-Mathieu Pekle represents a svoceru"
(the traditional dirge improvised by a woman in front of the mortal remains of a man who has met a violent death).
The original base, made of a big block of raw rock was judged undignified in that spot. In 1929 the decision was made to change it. An Art Deco architectural design was ordered to the architect Simon-Francois Fratacci, from Bastia. It was inaugurated in 1935.
Name or use 'Unknown' if not known: Histoire Corse
Figure Type: Human
Artist Name or use 'Unknown' if not known: Patriarche et Pekle
Date created or placed or use 'Unknown' if not known: 1925
Materials used: Bronze
Location: Place Saint Nicolas
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