Pour l'Humanité, pour la Patrie

[1] The painting depicts Jesus on the cross with a dead French cuirassier at his feet, lying on the tricolour.

[2] The juxtaposition of sacred and secular subjects within a single image might seem shocking, but Weerts’ refined academic technique perhaps serves to smooth the difference and make it appear normal.

[6] However an engraving by fr:Charles Baude allowed the image to reproduced at scale on devotional cards.

After the disastrous defeat of the Franco-Prussian War, images sanctifying the soldier’s death as a religious sacrifice became increasingly common.

Pour la patrie at the salon of 1895 was a decisive step in the association of patriotic and religious sacrifice.