1 of 3
Front view of Walter Allward, “The Breaking of the Sword” maquette, Canadian National Vimy Memorial (photo courtesy of CANADIGM)
2 of 3
Back view of Walter Allward, “The Breaking of the Sword” maquette, Canadian National Vimy Memorial (photo courtesy of CANADIGM)
3 of 3
Back view of Walter Allward, "The Breaking of the Sword" maquette, Canadian National Vimy Memorial (photo courtesy of CANADIGM)
Vimy Ridge in France is not just the site of Canada’s greatest battle during the First World War. It is also the site of one of Canada’s greatest works of art, a massive limestone and concrete monument by Walter Allward that includes 20 huge allegorical figures illustrating the themes of war, peace and sacrifice.
Only a small percentage of Canadians can get to France to visit the memorial inscribed with the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers who went missing in France during the First World War.
But anyone with an Internet connection can now view Allward’s sculpted figures in 3-D, thanks to a web project by the Canadian War Museum, the Vimy Foundation and Canadigm, an organization dedicated to preserving Canadian heritage through digital technology.
Allward: Bringing Stone to Life can be viewed online. The focus is on 15 digitized plaster maquettes of the 20 allegorical figures produced as half-sized models for the final figures on the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. The maquettes, works of art in their own right, are housed at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa and Kingston’s Military Communications & Electronics Museum. Online, the stunning figures come alive.
Allward’s figures are not meant to glorify war or Canada’s victory at Vimy during four days of fierce conflict in April, 1917. Instead, the sculptor saw his creations as a protest against the futility of war. This theme is embodied in the sculpture titled The Breaking of the Sword. Two figures stand resolutely while a third toils on bended knee to break a sword.
Other figures on the monument bear such names as The Spirit of Sacrifice, Hope, Faith and Justice. Most of the sculptures are of one figure while others show multiple figures.
During the four-day Vimy battle, 3,598 Canadians were killed fighting the Germans and 7,000 more were wounded. The battle is considered by some historians as the day Canada truly became a nation on the world stage.
The Vimy Memorial was created during the period 1921 to 1936. It was officially opened to the public in 1936 by King Edward VIII and remains, to this day, a popular pilgrimage for Canadians visiting France.
Source: Canadian War Museum