Joseph Epstein (1911–1944): The case of the forgotten Resistance hero rescued by the artist Pascal Convert

Abstract

This article examines the contemporary French artist Pascal Convert’s (b. 1957) projects relating to a forgotten leader of the French Resistance, Joseph Epstein, who was Polish, Jewish and a Communist. Convert had included Epstein among the 1006 French and foreign men commemorated on his 2002 monument at Mont-Valérien, but his realisation of Epstein’s importance came later and led to a documentary, a biography and sculptures of Epstein and his son, Georges Duffau. First, the documentary and biography are discussed in terms of Epstein’s case as a forgotten Resistance hero. Second, the historiography and form of both works are seen as keys to Convert’s contribution to accounts of this contested period. Last, it is argued that the sculptures of Epstein and other related artworks complete Convert’s engagement with the question of the transmission of memory. We see how Convert’s Epstein works represent an unparalleled triple intervention in documentary film, biography and the plastic arts.