France Embracing Alsace
Medal
ca. 1917 - ca. 1927 (made)
ca. 1917 - ca. 1927 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This medal representing France embracing Alsace is made by Raoul Lamourdedieu.
Lamourdedieu (1877-1953) was a French sculptor and medallist. He studied at the art school in Bordeaux and at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris. He was professor of stone-carving at the École des Beaux-Arts and also active as a medallist. He used the obverse of this medal for another medal (The French Rhine) where the reverse depicts and armed sentry standing at the river.
The grateful nation France acknowledges the debt owed to its citizens and soldiers for their valour, and at the same time welcomes the return of Alsace to French jurisdiction. The regions of Alsace and Lorraine had been annexed by Germany in 1871, but under the terms, first codified in President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points for Peace of January 1918, and later ratified by the signing of the Armistice at Compiègne, the German High Command was compelled to relinquish these regions. At the Versailles Peace Conference of 1919, the German negotiators request for a plebiscite in the regions was refused on 29 May, and the Treaty was finally signed on 28 June in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles.
Lamourdedieu (1877-1953) was a French sculptor and medallist. He studied at the art school in Bordeaux and at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris. He was professor of stone-carving at the École des Beaux-Arts and also active as a medallist. He used the obverse of this medal for another medal (The French Rhine) where the reverse depicts and armed sentry standing at the river.
The grateful nation France acknowledges the debt owed to its citizens and soldiers for their valour, and at the same time welcomes the return of Alsace to French jurisdiction. The regions of Alsace and Lorraine had been annexed by Germany in 1871, but under the terms, first codified in President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points for Peace of January 1918, and later ratified by the signing of the Armistice at Compiègne, the German High Command was compelled to relinquish these regions. At the Versailles Peace Conference of 1919, the German negotiators request for a plebiscite in the regions was refused on 29 May, and the Treaty was finally signed on 28 June in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | France Embracing Alsace (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Bronze |
| Brief description | France embracing Alsace, bronze, by Raoul Lamourdedieu, French, 20th century, ca. 1919-1927 |
| Physical description | Obverse: a female figure at the right in the regional costume and headdress of Alsace is held by the hand and embraced by a female figure symbolising France, who is crowned with laurel and wearing classical draperies. Both are encircled by a banner. Signed with monogram. Reverse: oak and laurel branches around the rim, the middle left blank for inscription. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Given by Professor J. Hull Grundy and Mrs. Ann Hull Grundy, in 1980. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This medal representing France embracing Alsace is made by Raoul Lamourdedieu. Lamourdedieu (1877-1953) was a French sculptor and medallist. He studied at the art school in Bordeaux and at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris. He was professor of stone-carving at the École des Beaux-Arts and also active as a medallist. He used the obverse of this medal for another medal (The French Rhine) where the reverse depicts and armed sentry standing at the river. The grateful nation France acknowledges the debt owed to its citizens and soldiers for their valour, and at the same time welcomes the return of Alsace to French jurisdiction. The regions of Alsace and Lorraine had been annexed by Germany in 1871, but under the terms, first codified in President Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points for Peace of January 1918, and later ratified by the signing of the Armistice at Compiègne, the German High Command was compelled to relinquish these regions. At the Versailles Peace Conference of 1919, the German negotiators request for a plebiscite in the regions was refused on 29 May, and the Treaty was finally signed on 28 June in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. |
| Bibliographic reference | Cullen, Lucy, Fisher, Wendy and Jopek, Norbert, 'One by One': European Commemorative Medals for the Great War 1914-1918, London : Victoria & Albert Museum, 1998
64 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.68-1980 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
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