“Here,” he said, “is the Marseillaise which Rude carved for one of the piers of the Arc de Triomphe.
“Liberty, in a breastplate of brass, cleaving the air with unfolded wings, roars in a mighty voice, ‘Aux armes, citoyens!’ She raises high her left arm to rally all the brave to her side, and, with the other hand, she points her sword towards the enemy. It is she, beyond question, whom you first see, for she dominates all the work, and her legs, which are wide apart as if she were running, seem like an accent placed above this sublime war-epic. It seems as though one must hear her—for her mouth of stone shrieks as though to burst your eardrum. But no sooner has she given the call than you see the warriors rush forward. This is the second phase of the action. A Gaul with the mane of a lion shakes aloft his helmet as though to salute the goddess, and here, at his side, is his young son, who begs the right to go with him—“I am strong enough, I am a man, I want to go!” he seems to say, grasping the hilt of a sword. “Come,” says the father, regarding him with tender pride.
“Third phase of the action: a veteran bowed beneath the weight of his equipment strives to join them—for all who have strength enough must march to battle. Another old man, bowed with age, follows the soldiers with his prayers, and the gesture of his hand seems to repeat the counsels that he has given them from his own experience.
“Fourth phase: an archer bends his muscular back to bind on his arms. A trumpet blares its frenzied appeal to the troops. The wind flaps the standards, the lances point forward. The signal is given, and already the strife begins.
“Here, again, we have a true dramatic composition acted before us. But while L’Embarquement pour Cythère recalls the delicate comedies of Marivaux, the Marseillaise is a great tragedy by Corneille. I do not know which of the two works I prefer, for there is as much genius in the one as in the other.”
Eustache de Saint-Pierre. One of the Burghers of Calais
By Rodin
One of the Burghers of Calais
By Rodin
And, looking at me with a shade of malicious challenge, he added, “You will no longer say, I think, that sculpture and painting are unable to compete with the theatre?”