DEATH AND STATUES
During the war, in October 1941, the pro-Nazi Vichy government decreed that statues "without artistic or historical importance" could be torn to pieces by the Germans in order to reuse the metal.
In December, the photographer Pierre Jahan, taking considerable risks, photographed them, piled up in a courtyard in Paris, in the 12th arrondissement, ready to leave for the foundries.
Jean Cocteau was so enthusiastic about those photographs that he decided to publish them in a book, writing the text himself.
Just over a hundred pages, the illustrated volume was published at the end of the war, in 1946, and republished several times. It is one of the most beautiful, saddest and most engaging photographic books ever made, just look at the photos of the dying alligators or the discouragement of the young orphan of the other statues of his family. I don't think it has ever been published in other countries. It can be found online at decent prices. There is also a first edition with a dedication by Cocteau for 1,200 euros.
