Portraits #1

Frozen in a moment in time, the human face always tells a story: a story of where it has been, what it has seen, what blows it has received and given, and what questions it has for the viewer. Following are photos of some faces I’ve taken over the years. I hope you can read their stories.

Jules Moulin, Consul de France, funerary monument, MontparnasseCemetery, Paris — Jules Moulin, Consul de France,
funerary monument, Montparnasse
Cemetery, Paris

Jules Moulin, French consul in Thessaloniki, was killed in 1876 along with the German consul, Sir Henry Abbott. Death was by the hands of a mob in what came to be called the Salonika Incident. Moulin was 39 years old. The funerary monument in the Montparnasse cemetery in Paris says that he died doing his duty. The Salonika incident is a sad reflection of the religious bigotry and animosity of this colonial era. A young Christian woman attempted to convert to Islam in order to marry a Turk against the will of her parents. On her way to the Governor’s office to get permission to convert she was detained by the US Consul. A mob gathered demanding her release. According to some versions of the incident, Moulin and Abbott were on their way to secure the young woman’s release and take her to the Governor when they were surrounded by the mob taken to a house and killed.

Even though Jules Moulin’s features are frozen in bronze in the Montparnasse Cemetery, time and nature continue to etch the tragedy of that day on his face.