France Weeping Over the Loss of Alsace

In addition to genre groups and portraits, Grégoire specialized in allegorical figures. He seemed particularly interested in portraying the devastating effects of the Franco-Prussian war and the loss of the Alsace region. The mourning figure played an important role in late 19th-century sculpture in France. While images of Joan of Arc and other heroes were an appeal to patriotism, the military defeats, civil strife, and political upheavals also provided sculptors ample opportunity to try their skills in allegorizing the ills of the Republic.