Plaquette
1914 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This bronze plaquette was made by Max Blondat(1872-1925) in France, in about 1914. Blondat has borrowed directly from the lithograph and poster by Jean Louis Forain (1852-1931), issued as part of the war effort in support of French soldiers. Unlike most other French medals of this date, a simple image is used: the figure of the imprisoned soldier, isolated from family and friends, whose only hope of contact is the letter he writes.
Throughout the Great War, a total of half a million French soldiers were taken prisoner, and their treatment as prisoners of war was in theory governed by conventions laid down by the International Red Cross.
Throughout the Great War, a total of half a million French soldiers were taken prisoner, and their treatment as prisoners of war was in theory governed by conventions laid down by the International Red Cross.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | |
| Brief description | Plaquette, French prisonner of war, bronze, by Max Blondat after Louis Forain, French, 20th century, 1914 |
| Physical description | obv., a French soldier, deep in thought, writes a letter, resting the page on his knee. Rev., legend in eight lines. The edge has the incuse cornucopia of Paris Mint mark and BRONZE. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions |
|
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This bronze plaquette was made by Max Blondat(1872-1925) in France, in about 1914. Blondat has borrowed directly from the lithograph and poster by Jean Louis Forain (1852-1931), issued as part of the war effort in support of French soldiers. Unlike most other French medals of this date, a simple image is used: the figure of the imprisoned soldier, isolated from family and friends, whose only hope of contact is the letter he writes. Throughout the Great War, a total of half a million French soldiers were taken prisoner, and their treatment as prisoners of war was in theory governed by conventions laid down by the International Red Cross. |
| 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
51 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.89-1920 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
