The Golden Virgin
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The Golden Virgin, also known as The Leaning Virgin, is a gilded sculpture by the French artist Albert Roze originally completed in 1897 and installed on the rooftop of the Basilica of Our Lady of Brebières in Albert, France. Regarded as a symbol of French resilience during World War I, the artwork portrays the Virgin Mary presenting Christ Child heavenward.
The Golden Virgin atop the basilica
The leaning Golden Virgin and the damaged basilica, 1915
The Basilique Notre-Dame de Brebières nearly destroyed, taken after The Golden Virgin fell and went missing in 1918. Photograph by Canadian brigadier general William Okell Holden Dodds.
Daily Mail official war photograph, "The Church at Albert", 1914–1917
Émile Aubrun
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Émile Eugène Aubrun was a French aviator who received national attention for finishing second in the 1910 Circuit de l'Est.
Departure of Émile Aubrun piloting a Blériot XI
Bordeaux Beau-desert-Mérignac aviation week September 1910
Circuit de l'Est 1910
Tombe de Emile Aubrun (cimetière de Montmartre)