The war-loan poster in which a poilu raises his arm shouting “On les aura !” — we'll get them! — is by his hand: few images of 1916 were so widely reproduced. As much a painter as a caricaturist, he drew for Le Rire. His inscription calls him “painter” and breathes not a word of the poster.
The story
A soldier throws his arm forward: “On les aura !” — we will get them. The poster of 1916, put up all over France for the war loans, is one of the most reproduced images of the First World War. It is by Jules Abel Faivre.
Born at Lyons on 30 March 1867, he was as much a painter as a caricaturist. He drew for Le Rire and L'Assiette au beurre, the two great satirical magazines of the Belle Époque, and the institutions took him in: officer of the Legion of Honour, corresponding member of the Institut.
He died at Nice on 13 August 1945. His chapel in Division 47, with an altar and a painting, carries an inscription that announces him first as “artiste peintre”, painter, and lists his honours. Not a word of the poster — the whole of France knows his line without knowing his name.
The grave
A chapel fitted with an altar and a painting — the most notable monument in Division 47 — whose inscription lists his institutional titles: “Here lies Jules Abel FAIVRE, painter, Officer of the Legion of Honour, corresponding member of the Institut, 1867-1945.” The caricaturist presents himself first as a painter, and nothing there recalls “On les aura !”, the poster of 1916 through which the whole of France knows his line without knowing his name.
On site, do not miss
A chapel with an altar and a painting, rare at Père-Lachaise. The inscription calls him “painter, Officer of the Legion of Honour, corresponding member of the Institut” — without a word about caricature.
Visitors' questions
Where is Abel Faivre's grave?
In Division 47, avenue Frédéric-Soulié, second row, in a chapel complete with an altar and a painting — the most notable monument in this quiet corner of the cemetery. He died in 1945 and rests in Division 47.
Frédéric SouliéDid he draw “On les aura!”?
He did: the poster of 1916, a poilu throwing his arm forward, is his. It is one of the best-known images of the First World War, pasted up across France for the war loans.
René MouchotteWhich papers did he draw for?
Le Rire and L'Assiette au beurre, the two great satirical magazines of the Belle Époque. He was as much a painter as a caricaturist, and was a corresponding member of the Institut.
TignousWhat does his inscription say?
It lists his titles: “Ici repose Jules Abel FAIVRE, artiste peintre, officier de la légion d'honneur, membre correspondant de l'Institut, 1867-1945.” — here lies Jules Abel Faivre, painter, Officer of the Legion of Honour, corresponding member of the Institut. The caricaturist presents himself there first as a painter.
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