Search
Close this search box.

ModernBritishArtGallery are delighted to be presenting for sale two collections of original works of art by Sir Frank Brangwyn <br>
Enjoy 20% off any total purchase over £500 using the coupon code fb20 at the checkout.

Search
Close this search box.
Louis Octave Mattei - Verdun - On ne passe pas

Sold

Louis Octave Mattei (1877)

Verdun – On ne passe pas, circa 1917

SKU: 5865
Signed and titled, the original plaster maquette,
20 x 26.5 cm.

Presentation:
framed

Size:
Height – 20cm x Width – 26.5cm

DESCRIPTION

Provenance:
David Cohen Fine Art; Private Collection
Fought from 21 February to 18 December 1916 the battle resulted in nearly one million casualties. In April 1916, Pétain had issued an Order of the Day, “Courage! On les aura” (“Courage! We shall get them”) and on 23 June 1916, Nivelle issued: “They shall not pass”, a simplification of the actual French text: “Vous ne les laisserez pas passer, mes camarades” (“you will not let them pass, my comrades”).
A French lieutenant at Verdun who was later killed by a shell, wrote in his diary on 23 May 1916 “Humanity is mad. It must be mad to do what it is doing. What a massacre! What scenes of horror and carnage! I cannot find words to translate my impressions. Hell cannot be so terrible. Men are mad!”
This original plaster maquette would have subsequently been cast in an edition of bronze and sold as a souvenir of one of the longest and mostly costly battles in human history. 

Disclaimer:
Modern British Art Gallery are continually seeking to improve the quality of the information on their website. We actively undertake to post new and more accurate information on our stable of artists.

We openly acknowledge the use of information from other sites including Wikipedia, artbiogs.co.uk and Tate.org and other public domains. We are grateful for the use of this information and we openly invite any comments on how to improve the accuracy of what we have posted.

CATEGORIES

,

SHARE

+ Share on Facebook
+ Share on Pinterest
+ Share via Email

THE ARTIST

Louis Octave Mattei
Louis Octave
Mattei
1877

Louis Octave Joseph MattŽ i [commonly known as Louis Octave MattŽ i] was born in Vern-d’Anjou,

Maine-et-Loire, France on 20 November 1877. He moved to Paris where he was a pupil of the

Georges Tonnelier (1858-1937). 

MattŽ i subsequently worked as a sculptor and medal engraver

and exhibited at the Salon of the SociŽ tŽ des Artistes Français in Paris from 1904 to 1914.

He died in 1918.

We are grateful to Chris Mees for assistance.
Go to artist page

MORE PICTURES BY ARTIST