France: Once Again, J'Accuse

• Share

The Dreyfus affair, the infamous turn-of-the-century case of the Jewish army officer who was sent to Devil's Island on trumped-up charges of treason, is troubling France once again. But this time the controversy involves art rather than matters of state: where to place a bronze statue of Alfred Dreyfus, who was finally exonerated in 1906. The 12-ft.-high work by the artist and sculptor Tim, a political cartoonist for the magazine L'Express, was commissioned by Culture Minister Jack Lang as part of a program to promote French sculpture. Tim wanted the bronze to be placed in the courtyard of L'Ecole Militaire, the academy where in 1895 Dreyfus was stripped of his rank for allegedly passing secrets to the Germans. But Defense Minister Charles Hernu rejected the idea, claiming that the courtyard is not a public place.

Several French newspapers have contended that Hernu's real worry is that the work, which depicts the officer standing at the ready, his sword broken to symbolize injustice, might be viewed as an affront to the army that accused Dreyfus. The affair continues.