Monument aux Morts

Monument aux Morts stands in Grasse as a memorial to residents who died during the First World War. Its square portico rises on four pillars, beneath a pitched roof that combines Provençal forms with classical antique influences.

Sculptor Gaston Le Bourgeois and architect Léon Le Bel created the design, which was inaugurated on 4 March 1928. Art Deco decoration fills the capitals and arch spandrels with alternating scenes of combat and trench life among the poilus. A small plaza, gardens, stone paving, wrought-iron railings and plant fences shape the setting, while a long straight staircase links it to the lower street. Two crypt rooms lie beneath the plaza, and the whole ensemble received protected historical-monument status in 2010.

Look closely at the sculpted details: the four capitals and the spaces above the arches shift between battlefield action and the soldiers’ daily routines.