Gravely Speaking

Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix (26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French romantic artist, influenced by the round and plump figures painted by Reubens, is now most famous for a painting he created titled, Liberty Leading the People. The painting portrays a bare-breasted woman, the allegorical figure of liberty, who carries the Tri-color and leads the French peasants in revolt in 1830 against Charles X.  Delacroix’s version of events depicts the peasants as heroic characteristic of his romantic style and in stark contrast to the neoclassical style that was also in vogue at the time.

His black granite sarcophagus is modeled after the Roman tomb of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus. The Scipio sarcophagus was erected around 150 BC.  Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus (died c. 280 BC) was one of the two elected Roman consuls in 298 BC. Scipio’s tomb is now preserved in the Vatican Museum in Rome, Italy. Though Delacroix led the romantic painters into creating a newer style, his tomb is decidedly classical.

Le Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France

A walk through a cemetery rarely brings you to an equestrian memorial, but Le Père Lachaise is not an ordinary cemetery. In section 94, there it is an equestrian statue that honors General Antranik Ozanian, (February 25, 1865 – August 31, 1927) the great Armenian revolutionary, who ended up years later dying in Fresno, California, and was buried in the Ararat Cemetery in that city.

That burial was temporary—a short stay on his way back to his Armenian homeland. However, on his way back in the late 20s his body was stopped in Paris because the Russians were not going to allow his body to enter into Armenia. So, Antranik was laid to rest again, this time at Le Père Lachaise on January 29, 1928. He remained buried there until he was re-interred at the military cemetery at Yerevan, Armenia, on February 20, 2000.  The statue remains, though, the tomb is empty, a reminder of his long layover in the storied cemetery.

GEORGES RODENBACH

1855 – 1898

I took pictures of hundreds of gravestones at Le Père Lachaise and I think my favorite is the dramatic tomb of a little known poet and writer—Georges Rodenbach. Rodenbach is best known for his novel, Bruges-la-Morte, a story about a man who walks around the streets of Bruges mourning his dead wife when he spots a woman who is the spitting image of her. This novel is notable for it was the first time a work of fiction used photographs. He wrote other works, including eight volumes of poetry and three other novels, as well as, short stories and essays—all while working as a lawyer in Paris.

The tomb has a sculpture of Rodenbach himself busting out of a large block of rough-cut granite. His tomb is meant to be a symbol of how even the grave cannot hold his spirit. He defiantly holds up a flower in one hand as if he is mocking death.

Statue of William Shakespeare by the River Avon at Stratford-upon-Avon

Ordinarily this space is confined to blog posts about North American graves. But, vacation abroad and a visit to one of the most famous graves in whole of England merits a slight and hopefully memorable change of pace.

A mosaic of Shakespeare above a doorway into a Stratford bank

In 1564, in the small village of Stratford-upon-Avon, William Shakespeare was born, the son of John and Mary Shakespeare. John was a prosperous glove maker but his son was destined to become one of the most celebrated playwrights and poets in the whole and long literary history of England.

William Shakespeare’s birthplace

It is difficult to estimate his influence on drama, the English language, poetry, and the lives of countless high school students worldwide who have read his works and been tested accordingly.

The sole industry in sleepy Stratford is selling Shakespeare. His image is seen everywhere—selling ice creams, on store fronts, in alcoves, in statuary in the park, on signage of all kinds.     Shakespeare is seen everywhere. Without the Shakespeare birthplace, Ann Hathaway’s cottage, his daughter’s home—Hall’s Croft, his mother’s farm, along with his burial place in Holy Trinity, Stratford would most likely be no bigger than neighboring Henley. It is also the home of the Swan Theater and the Royal Shakespeare Company. But, be sure Shakespeare not only left a mark on sleepy Stratford, but all of literature.

Holy Trinity Church

In the floor of the chancel at the Holy Trinity Church at Stratford-upon-Avon is the grave of William Shakespeare with what may be the world’s most well-known epitaph:

GOOD FRIENDS FOR JESUS SAKE FOREBEARE,

TO DIGG THE DUST ENCLOASED HEARE.

BLESE BE YE MAN TY SPARE THES STONES,

AND CURST BE HE TY MOVES MY BONES.

Shakespeare’s grave in the Holy Trinity Church Chancel at Stratford-upon-Avon

In addition to the grave in the chancel, a memorial bust on the chancel wall honors William Shakespeare, as well.