Monument aux morts de la guerre de 1914-1918, situé devant l'église
MonumentHidden Treasure
In front of the church in Villegouge, this sober war memorial dating from 1925 reveals a winged Victory of rare elegance, the work of sculptor Roganeau and decorator Perrier, listed as a Historic Monument.
History
Standing in the church square in Villegouge, in the Entre-deux-Mers vineyards of Bordeaux, the Great War memorial embodies the collective memory of a rural commune which, like so many others in France, was devastated by the 1914-1918 conflict. Far from the big urban memorials, this one bears witness to a demanding local commission, entrusted to renowned artists from the Bordeaux region, to honour with dignity the sons of the village who fell at the front. What sets this monument apart from the standardised productions of the inter-war period is the sculptural quality of its central piece: a winged Victory dressed in antique style, an allegorical figure charged with classical solemnity, framed by a generously proportioned plant crown. The iconography chosen - that of Greek and Roman antiquity - contrasts with the simplicity of the surrounding Gironde countryside, giving the piece an almost timeless atmosphere. The visit takes just a few moments, but is naturally part of a wider walk around the Romanesque church of Villegouge and the adjoining cemetery, whose wall long served as a backdrop to the monument before it was moved. Reading the names engraved in the stone is a powerful reminder of the scale of the loss of life in the French countryside, where every family was affected. The hedged farmland and vineyards of Villegouge, at the gateway to Fronsac and Saint-Émilion, add a melancholy and soothing dimension to the contemplation. The fact that it was listed as a Historic Monument in 2014 confirms the heritage value of this discreet ensemble, whose formal sobriety only reinforces its memorial power.
Architecture
The monument takes the form of an elongated horizontal wall, a sober, balanced composition in keeping with the neo-classical trend that characterised French memorials of the 1920s. This format, an intermediary between the vertical stele and the true triumphal arch, made it possible to accommodate the lists of names engraved on side plaques, while providing a central surface dedicated to allegorical representation. The centrepiece is a winged Victory sculpted in bas-relief or high-relief, depicted in antique dress - draped tunic, wings spread - according to an iconographic vocabulary directly inherited from Greco-Roman statuary and widely used in European funerary and commemorative art of the early 20th century. The central figure is framed by a wreath of laurel and olive leaves, traditional symbols of glory and rediscovered peace. The ensemble reveals Roganeau's technical mastery and sense of composition, as he was accustomed to working with engravings and depictions of the human body. The materials used were probably local limestone or ashlar from the Bordeaux region, the dominant material for architecture and commemorative sculpture in Gironde at the time. The finesse of the sculptural work, visible in the treatment of the drapery and plant elements, contrasts with the monumental legibility of the whole, designed to be seen from the church square.
Related Figures
François-Maurice Roganeau (1883-1973) — peintre et graveur bordelais, co-auteur du monumentMonsieur Perrier — collaborateur de Roganeau, co-concepteur du monument en 1925Les soldats de Villegouge morts pour la France (1914-1918) — dont les noms sont gravés sur le monumentAbbé ou curé de Villegouge (1925) — figure locale présente lors de l'inauguration du monument devant l'église paroissiale
