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Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The monument to the dead of Thonon-les-Bains is distinguished by its regionalist dimension, rare in the memorials of the era. Originally, it was a carved group commissioned in 1914 by Paul Jacquier, Member of Parliament for Haute-Savoie and Under-Secretary of State for Fine Arts, to Moreau-Vauthier. The latter designed a work that paid tribute to the Allobroges, the Gaulish people of the region, without direct connection to the global conflict. The original monument represented a procession of legionaries of all ages, evoking the legion of 1791 and the union of Savoy with France, symbolized by inscriptions like "As our rivers our hearts go towards France".

The transformation into a monument to the dead occurred after the First World War, with the addition of a hairy figure to the existing carved group. Inaugurated in 1923, the monument was installed on the tip of the square of the Gare, a strategic location to accommodate travelers arriving at this resort. The architect Louis Moynat designed the landscaping to highlight the work, while Moreau-Vauthier, a realistic sculptor close to academic traditions, signed a creation contrasting with the stylistic innovations of the 1920s. The municipal archives keep photographs of the original model, reflecting the evolution of the project.

Ranked as a historical monument in 2019, the Thonon-les-Bains Dead Monument also includes a masonry fence with barred barred. Owned by the National Plastic Arts Centre (State Depository), it illustrates both a local heritage rooted in Savoyard history and a national memory of the Great War. His iconography, mixing ancient references and contemporary figure of the hairy, makes it a unique example of synthesis between regionalism and the duty of memory.

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