Top of the World
Located just outside the town of Moux is a curious mausoleum of which a creepy sculpture of a smiling corpse in an advanced state of decomposition stands out, raising in one of its skeletal hands a human heart.This curious and macabre tomb is the final resting place of the famous 19th- and 20th-century French poet and playwright Félix-Henri "Henry" Bataille. His works often featured recurring themes such as the power of untamable passion and the stifling, often hypocritical social conventions that oppressed the human spirit and individuality.The popularity of Bataille's poems and plays peaked in the decade between the turn of the 20th century and the beginning of World War I. Some of his plays were adapted for Broadway productions and early silent films in the United States. Although he had achieved great success and recognition in the arts, Bataille died in 1922, at a relatively young age of 49.Before his death, Bataille had given precise instructions for the construction of this tomb, which was to be a tribute to the Renaissance. The tomb included reproductions of his favorite monuments from that period, such as the Beaune marble fountain in Tours and the statue of Ligier Richer's corpse from the tomb of René de Chalons in Bar le Duc. (Unlike the sculpture that inspired it, the skeletal figure on Bataille's tomb does not contain his real heart.)As per his instructions, the corpse sculpture was to be prominently displayed to visitors to the tomb: "On top of all this I want the statue of Ligier Richer to be placed, one of the most beautiful works of French genius, expressing all the spirituality of death, all the beauty of human effort."The tomb can be seen for free just outside the town of Moux, although the location is somewhat isolated and requires a walk to reach it.
