Avant l'attaque (Before the attack)

A group of French infantrymen wait while their officer counts down the minutes until the beginning of an attack against the German enemy. This scene could take place anywhere along the Western Front, and it is deliberately general in nature because it represents all of the French military. Jonas imbues his images with pathos and pride, the officer is depicted as gallant and the soldiers as courageous as they prepare to sacrifice their lives for France. This lithograph was reproduced as the cover for French magazine 'Les Annales Politiques et Litteraires (No. 1844)'.

Lucien-Hector Jonas was born at Anzin in France on 8 April 1880. He studied first at Valenciennes with Layraud then went to Paris to study with A Maignan and Bonnat. He joined the Societaire des Artistes Francais in 1904 and was awarded third class medal in 1905, second class medal and a scholarship to travel in 1907, the Prix du Salon in 1911, and the second Prix de Rome and the chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur. During the First World War he produced several posters for the French government. He died in Paris in 1947. (biog. translation from Benezit, vol. 6, p. 93).