La borne (The milestone)

Depicts a dead German soldier, lying face down, on the ground, next to a mile post on which is inscribed 'Verdun 11 kil'. Behind this German soldier are piles of bodies of other dead soldiers. The Germans commenced the year 1916 by launching a massive offensive, attacking the French salient around Verdun, 200 kilometres east of Paris. After a period of six months the French and German casualties exceeded half a million. Jean-Louis Forain (1852-1931) was a painter, illustrator and caricaturist. He began his career as a caricaturist for several Paris journals. His style was a cross between Manet’s realism and Daumier’s sarcasm. Between 1879 and 1886, Forain exhibited at four Impressionist exhibitions and devoted himself to painting after 1900.He took up lithography in 1892 and caricature ans social comment inform much of his work. He was considered one of the most important artists in France during the first few decades of the twentieth century. He contributed satirical drawings to a wide range of journals, taking his subjects mainly from the legal and theatrical worlds. In 1915, at the age of 62, Forain joined the Army and became a member of the Camouflage Corps. He later worked as a roving correspondent, covering the various fronts. From 1914 he made a series of illustrations for 'Le Figaro' and many of his drawings showed the effect of war on soldiers and civilians, in some instances with iconic wit. This work was published in 'Le Figaro' on 22 March 1916. French research undertaken on this work noted; 'Milestone. A mass of dead bodies of German soldiers near a stone milestone with the inscription ‘Verdun...Km’. (drawing framed by a line). For one month the battle raged at Verdun. In spite of the numerous attacks that they launched territory gains made (10 March: recapturing the Bois de Corbeaux, which is a veritable German carnage scene; 14 March: trenches between Bethincourt and le Mort-Homme; 17 March: village and fort of Vaux; 18 March: Bois d’Haudromont; 20 March: Cote du Poivres and Bois de Malancourt), the Germans have scarcely advanced in the direction of Verdun, but have left many dead on the field of battle'.