Thursday, June 14, 2012

Artistes.


This is coolbert:

"Dieu Protege la France!" ("God Save France!")

Thanks to Der Spiegel and the tip from DEC we have this photo album for your viewing.

The type of thing that perhaps archaeologists will studying in two thousand years?

And the type of thing you would find:

* In the Dordogne of France [cave paintings of prehistoric man].
* Tuscany [the burial chambers of the Etruscans].
* The catacombs under Rome.

Rather this time only from one hundred years ago almost now.

Carvings into the walls of medieval quarries, sanctuary for those French troops on the front lines of the Western Front, refuge from the combat that was an almost a daily occurrence. The French common soldier displaying a remarkable artistry and talent, the artiste!


"WWI Legacy in French Caves"

"Wall Carvings Convey Soldiers' Pride and Sorrow"

"Stone quarries in France sheltered thousands of troops during World War I. Amid the carnage and the fear, French soldiers showed startling artistry by making wall carvings that conveyed their patriotism, their homesickness -- and their love of red wine."

 "Deep in the cool, dank blackness of an underground limestone quarry in northern France stands an altar, carved from the wall by soldiers of the French army who sheltered here during World War I."

 "People still come here to pray every Sunday,"

"The medieval limestone quarry of Confrécourt, close to the village of Nouvron-Vingré some 50 kilometers (30 miles) northeast of Paris, is a veritable art gallery of murals hewn into the rock by the troops."

"There are some 500 such quarries between here and the town of Soissons less than 20 kilometers away, and all have wall carvings,"

Five hundred such quarries exist and they ALL have such wall carvings. And the best are now being preserved for posterity and recorded so that history and mother nature will neither forget or erase!!

This all makes "Kilroy was here" seem very amateurish.

Bravo and Dieu Protege la France!


coolbert.

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