Le Coup de Massue du l’un (One Knock-down Blow)

Félix Jules Lacaille

Le Coup de Massue du l’un (One Knock-down Blow), 1914–1918

Where object was made: France

Material/technique: lithograph; hand coloring

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 295 x 205 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 11 5/8 x 8 1/16 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 529 x 361 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 20 13/16 x 14 3/16 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 25 x 20 in

Credit line: Gift of Eric G. Carlson in honor of Stephen, Diane, Erica, Emily, and Caitlin Goddard

Accession number: 2004.0163

Not on display

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Label texts

Exhibition Label:
"Machine in a Void: World War I & the Graphic Arts," Mar-2010, Steve Goddard
In France, the German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, received a large share of the blame for the outbreak of war. He was a popular target for wartime propaganda, appearing repeatedly in cartoons, lithographs for magazines, and even postcards. As long as Wilhelm’s distinctive mustache was present, the French viewer would have no problem reading even the most distorted figure as the hated Kaiser, a fact that many artists used to great effect.

This work most likely refers to the First Battle of the Marne, fought in early September 1914, when the combined French and British armies defeated the German forces to stop their advance into France and end a monthlong
streak of German military victories. Here, Lacaille has captured the optimistic spirit generated by this victory, depicting the Kaiser being defeated with a single blow from a club labeled “Marne.”