The Sounds of the Tocsin Have a Curious Fate: in 1892 They Were Shown in the French Pavilion at the World's Fair

The Sounds of the Tocsin have a curious fate: in 1892 they were shown in the French pavilion at the World's Fair. After being purchased, the painting ended up in the Museum of Picardy, founded by Napoleon, though whether the artist himself gave the canvas to the museum along with other works, I do not know for certain. After the evacuation the picture left the museum for 100 years and was considerably worn down over that time, and only in 2016 did work begin on its complete restoration. On the website of the Taylor Foundation (Maignan was once its director, and the foundation is housed in the building of his studio) there are interesting materials on this. As you can see, even today there is no other way of moving large canvases than rolled onto a plywood drum. The public is less familiar with this picture than with the well-known works of Maignan, an artist who in his day adorned Paris with frescoes and murals at the Gare de Lyon, in the Paris town hall, in the foyer of the Opéra-Comique and in other landmark places.