Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
The monument to the dead, in total, with its calade, located place de l'Eglise, not cadastre, as depicted in purple on the plan annexed to the decree: classification by decree of 28 December 2021
Key figures
Pierre Fix-Masseau - Sculptor
Author of Art Deco bas-relief.
Paul Chanut - Local glove
Friend of Fix-Masseau, likely intercessor.
Désiré Godard - Founder
Made the cast of the bas-relief.
Origin and history
The monument to the dead of Saint-Martin-Valmeroux, located in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, was commissioned in 1920 by the commune and erected in 1922. The work, produced by the Parisian sculptor Pierre Fix-Masseau, probably benefited from the intervention of Paul Chanut, a local glovemaker friend of the artist. This monument commemorates 62 soldiers from the commune who died during the First World War. His Art Deco style and his humanist approach, far from traditional heroic representations, make it a singular work.
The monument consists of a pebbly base, a stele framed by two steps, and a bas-relief on the façade representing a secular allegory of the Victory supporting a dying soldier, naked except his helmet. This scene, evoking a secular pietà, contrasts with traditional monuments by its realism and symbolic sensitivity. The names of the victims are engraved on two bronze plates at the back, surmounted by the inscription "St Martin Valmeroux to his children dead for France".
Ranked a historic monument since December 28, 2021 (after a first inscription in 2019), this monument illustrates the evolution of memorial representations after the Great War. The bas-relief, melted by Désiré Godard, combines Art Deco influences – visible in stylized drapes and serious faces – and symbolism, reflecting the duality between earthly pain and spiritual elevation. The nudity of the soldier, rare for the time, reinforces the universality and humanity of sacrifice.
Pierre Fix-Masseau (1869–1937), director of the National School of Decorative Art in Limoges and representative of symbolism and Art Nouveau, marked this monument with its artistic signature. The choice of this sculptor would have been facilitated by his friendship with Paul Chanut, the mantier de Saint-Martin-Valmeroux. The work, located in Church Square, is now fully protected, including its surrounding calade, and remains a poignant testimony of local memory.
The monument is part of a post-Great War context where the French communes erected tributes to fallen soldiers. In Saint-Martin-Valmeroux, as elsewhere, these monuments became places for the collection and transmission of collective memory. The secular and humanistic approach of Fix-Masseau, avoiding any military glorification, reflects a desire for pacification and mourning shared by the rural communities of Auvergne.
