Those haunting figures of grief #1 The Raspail Tomb

With the passing of a loved one we are overcome with grief, and this is the term we use to describe the intense pain and sadness we feel for the loss of someone we hold dear.

Grief is expressed in the epitaphs we read on gravestones, a long echo into the future to tell people that this person meant something to someone once.

At times the gestures to our grief are manifested in the most beautiful and haunting sculptures.

The Raspail tomb in Père-Lachaise Cemetery, Paris is one of the more striking and uniquely arresting statues. The shrouded figure is in fact Henriette-Adélaïde Raspail, née Trousseau (1799-1853), who died whilst her husband François-Vincent Raspail was imprisoned due to taking part in one of the various revolts in 1848 against Louis-Phillipe. You can see that she appears to be reaching out to say her final adieu to her husband through his prison window.

Raspail went on to become a successful and respected politician and scientist. The longest Boulevard in Paris and a metro station is named after him.

The sculptor was Antoine Etex, who was also responsible for Géricault's Tomb.