The Seasons of Life, Volume 1 – Accordailles

The Seasons of Life, Volume 1

Accordailles

This is the first of three volumes in an exclusive edition published by Piconrue – Musée de la Grande Ardenne. With a print run of 500 copies, each volume comes with a signed and numbered offprint by Jean-Claude Servais.

The author, Gérard Dewamme, and the illustrator, Jean-Claude Servais, drew inspiration from customs practised in Wallonia before the First World War to bring the characters of Toinette and Bastien to life; here, they become engaged

This book helps us better understand that these legendary clashes were as much a fierce battle for control of roads and crossroads on the snow-covered Ardennes plateau as they were a siege battle. Indeed, this is what immediately strikes the eye in this type of illustration. All the markings on the ground are organised around the road network: main roads, country lanes and forest tracks. Finally, the reader will gain a better appreciation of the extent to which Bastogne – and even more so the surrounding villages – suffered damage caused by artillery and aerial bombardment, damage that was particularly spectacular ‘seen from the sky’. ’ The photographs published cover some thirty localities spread across the following present-day municipalities: Attert, Bastogne, Bertogne, Fauvillers, Houffalize, La Roche, Léglise, Martelange, Rambrouch (Grand Duchy of Luxembourg), Sainte-Ode, Tenneville and Vaux-sur-Sûre.