This is an original drawing on prepared paper of the cathedral called
Notre Dame of Brebieres, which was destroyed in World War I and later
rebuilt. The drawing measures 8.6" x 6.2", and is signed and dated
across the bottom as can be seen in the enlargement above.
Some information about this historical site below:
During
World War I, the statue of Mary and the infant Jesus - designed by
sculptor Albert Roze and dubbed the "Golden Virgin" - on top of the
Basilica of Notre-Dame de Brebières was hit by a shell on January 15,
1915, and was put on a horizontal position and was near falling. The
Germans said that whoever made the statue fall would lose the war, and a
number of legends surrounding the "Leaning Virgin" developed among
German, French, and British soldiers. The Leaning Virgin became an
especially familiar image to the thousands of British soldiers who
fought at the Battle of the Somme (1916), many of whom passed through
Albert, which was situated three miles from the front lines.
In his
letters home to his wife, Rupert Edward Inglis (1863–1916), who was a
former rugby international and now a Forces Chaplain, describes passing
through Albert:
We went through the place today (2 October 1915)
where the Virgin Statue at the top of the Church was hit by a shell in
January. The statue was knocked over, but has never fallen, I sent you a
picture of it. It really is a wonderful sight. It is incomprehensible
how it can have stayed there, but I think it is now lower than when the
photograph was taken, and no doubt will come down with the next gale.
The Church and village are wrecked, there’s a huge hole just outside the
west door of the Church.
The German army recaptured the town in
March 1918 during the Spring Offensive; the British, to prevent the
Germans from using the church tower as an observation post, directed
their bombardment against the basilica. The statue fell in April 1918
and was never recovered. In August 1918 the Germans were again forced to
retreat, and the British reoccupied Albert until the end of the war.
Albert
was completely reconstructed after the war, including widening and
re-orienting the town's main streets. The Basilica, however, was
faithfully rebuilt according to its original design by Eduoard Duthoit,
the son of the architect who had overseen its construction in 1885-95.
The present statue is an exact replica of Roze's original design, and a
war memorial designed by Roze and featuring an image of the "Leaning
Virgin" can be seen in the "Abri" (Shelter) Museum, which houses
souvenirs of the war. The underground shelters in which the museum is
located served as protective bunkers for Albert's residents during
aerial bombardments in World War II.
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