Monument aux héros de l'armée d'Orient et des terres lointaines, square Lieutenant-Danjaume
MonumentHidden Treasure
A triumphal arch facing the Mediterranean, this granite and bronze monument celebrates the Poilus of the East who fell far from France - a majestic work by Castel and Sartorio, inaugurated in 1927.
History
Facing the Mediterranean waves, on the edge of the Marseilles promontory, the Monument to the Heroes of the Army of the Orient and Far Away Lands stands out as one of the most unique commemorative works to emerge from the Great War. Where other memorials turn their backs to the horizon, this one looks out to sea - the same horizon that hundreds of thousands of French soldiers crossed to fight in the East, in the Dardanelles, in Macedonia, in Africa and in the Levant. This orientation is not accidental: it is at the heart of the exhibition. The work is immediately striking for its monumental portico architecture, a rare form in the repertoire of French war memorials. The massive arch, crowned by a crescent and a star - symbols of the Islamic lands crossed by these armies - is in dialogue with the changing light of the Old Port and the blue hues of the open sea. The intrados, adorned with palms, lends a solemnity without heaviness, while the bronze Victory, arms outstretched towards the sky, breathes an almost living energy into the stone. The visit unfolds on several levels, both literally and figuratively. The staircase leading down to the sea invites you to prolong your contemplation, to immerse yourself in the scale of the monument from below, from the perspective of the embarkation. The female figures with their massive wings resting on the jambs seem to be watching over those who are leaving and those who are returning - or not returning. The two full-length figures evoke the army and the airborne combatants, reminding us that this was the first conflict to mobilise aviation in a significant way. For the photographic visitor, the golden hours of morning and evening transform the white granite into a luminous surface that rivals the finest ancient marble. For the history buff, every sculptural detail is a story in itself. And for anyone standing there, between the city and the sea, this monument manages to make palpable the immensity of a sacrifice made on the other side of the world, in lands that most of those soldiers had never imagined they would set foot on.
Architecture
The monument takes the form of a portico or triumphal arch, a form borrowed from ancient tradition but reinterpreted in the sober, powerful Art Deco vocabulary characteristic of 1920s France. The main mass is made up of two thick jambs joined by a slightly raised semicircular arch, the intrados of which is decorated with stylised palms - a motif that is both funereal and victorious, borrowed from Mediterranean and Oriental iconography. At the top of the arch, a crescent and a star explicitly assert the Eastern dimension of the memorial, distinguishing this monument from all its counterparts dedicated to the Western Front. The materials used combine the dominant white granite with invisible structural reinforced concrete and ashlar. This combination gives the monument a luminous whiteness that reflects the brightness of the Mediterranean and recalls the limestone architecture of the Marseilles tradition. On each jamb, two female figures with massive wings are set in high relief: their powerful volume and quasi-architectural treatment make them similar to the winged Victories of Antiquity, while at the same time heralding the synthetic forms of the monumental sculpture of the inter-war period. At the base of the jambs, full-length figures represent soldiers and airmen. At the centre of the arch, on its plinth, the bronze Victory with its arms outstretched towards the sky forms the focal point of the whole. One of the most remarkable aspects of the design is its integration into the site. The staircase leading down to the sea extends the monument downwards, creating a commemorative promenade that ends almost at the level of the waves. This topographical setting amplifies the symbolism of the embarkation and gives visitors the impression of literally standing on the threshold between France and the Orient.
Related Figures
Gaston Castel — architecte en chef du département des Bouches-du-Rhône, concepteur du monumentAntoine Sartorio — sculpteur marseillais, auteur des figures monumentales et de la Victoire en bronzeLes Poilus d'Orient — soldats français des campagnes de Gallipoli, Salonique, Syrie et Palestine (1915-1918)Le général Sarrail — commandant de l'Armée d'Orient à Salonique, figure tutélaire de ces campagnesLouis Franchet d'Espèrey — généralissime de l'Armée d'Orient lors de l'offensive victorieuse de septembre 1918
