''Le Départ des poilus, août 1914'' (French: ''Departure of the Infantrymen, August 1914'') is a monumental mural by the American artist

Albert Herter Albert Herter (March 2, 1871 – February 15, 1950) was an American painter, illustrator, muralist, and interior designer. He was born in New York City, studied at the Art Students League with James Carroll Beckwith, then in Paris with Jean ...

. The painting measures and is displayed at the

Gare de l'Est The Gare de l'Est (; English: "Station of the East" or "East station"), officially Paris-Est, is one of the six large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. It is located in the 10th arrondissement, not far southeast from the Gar ...

railway station in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, where it is suspended some high on a wall in the Hall d'Alsace. Herter's work was intended as a memorial to his elder son Everit, also a painter, who volunteered to join the US Army in September 1917, some months after the US joined the First World War. Everit Herter joined the camouflage section of the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

. Sergeant Herter was killed in June 1918 near

Château-Thierry Château-Thierry () is a French commune situated in the department of the Aisne, in the administrative region of Hauts-de-France, and in the historic Province of Champagne. The origin of the name of the town is unknown. The local tradition att ...

in Aisne, while serving in France with the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

, and is buried in the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery. He had spent time in Europe with his parents before the war, including a period studying at a secondary school in France. Herter channelled his grief into this mural, which depicts many ''

poilu Poilu (; ) is an informal term for a late 18th century–early 20th century French infantryman, meaning, literally, ''the hairy one''. It is still widely used as a term of endearment for the French infantry of World War I. The word carries the se ...

s'' (French infantrymen) leaving for the Western Front. Over 3 million French citizens were mobilised in the summer of 1914, and many left from this hall at the Gare de l'Est. The upper half of the frieze shows young men in uniform on the train awaiting departure. One to the right carries the

French tricolour The national flag of France (french: link=no, drapeau français) is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue ( hoist side), white, and red. It is known to English speakers as the ''Tricolour'' (), although the flag of Ireland ...

, and the young man at centre, holding aloft his cap and a rifle with a bouquet of flowers, is a portrait of Everit. The lower half shows men, women and children saying their farewells. The man at far right with the bouquet of flowers is a self-portrait of Herter, and the woman in white at the far left is a portrait of Herter's wife Adele (née McGinnis). The work was painted in 1925-26 at the

Chateau de Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

. Herter donated the mural to the people of France, and it was unveiled in the departure hall at the Gare de l'Est on 8 June 1926, in the presence of the former French Commander-in-Chief

Marshal Joffre Joseph Jacques Césaire Joffre (12 January 1852 – 3 January 1931) was a French general who served as Commander-in-Chief of French forces on the Western Front from the start of World War I until the end of 1916. He is best known for regroup ...

, the French Minister of War and former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Paul Painlevé Paul Painlevé (; 5 December 1863 – 29 October 1933) was a French mathematician and statesman. He served twice as Prime Minister of the Third Republic: 12 September – 13 November 1917 and 17 April – 22 November 1925. His entry into politic ...

, the Minister of Arts

Anatole de Monzie Anatole de Monzie (22 November 1876, Bazas, Gironde – 11 January 1947, Paris) was a French administrator, encyclopaedist ('' Encyclopédie française''), political figure and scholar. His father was a tax collector in Bazas, Gironde whe ...

, and the US Ambassador to France Myron T. Herrick. At the same ceremony, Herter was awarded the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. The painting was removed from the Gare de l'Est in 1948, to be cleaned of the dirt deposited by years of smoke from steam trains. It returned in 1964, but was removed again in 2006 to allow the station to be adapted for the

TGV Est The Ligne à Grande Vitesse Est européenne (East European High Speed Line), typically shortened to LGV Est, is a French high-speed rail line that connects Vaires-sur-Marne (near Paris) and Vendenheim (near Strasbourg). The line halved the tra ...

. After restoration, it was reinstalled in early 2008 in the Hall d'Alsace. File:Le Départ des poilus.jpg, The painting in 2008 File:Hall Alsace 00287.JPG, The painting in the

in 2014 File:Paris Gare de l'Est4.JPG, The painting in 2015

References

"New York Artist Killed in France,"
''The New York Times'', June 28, 1918
Albert Herter, Le Départ des poilus, août 1914, 1926
Collège Louis Lumière, Versailles

Le Monde, 4 November 2013

Béziauhistgeo
Août 14. La France entre en guerre
Bruno Cabanes, pp. 74-76.
La gare de l'Est doit se souvenir de ses poilus
Le Figaro, 14 October 2007
Le Départ des poilus, août 1914
14-18 Monument aux morts de la Grande Guerre Ville de Paris {{DEFAULTSORT:Départ des poilus World War I in popular culture Paintings in Paris War paintings Anti-war paintings 1926 paintings