"As cold and calculating as the thing itself when seen in the mind of its planners," said Brassefort's new patron in the press, the critic Londres Pipier. "The straight lines bring to mind the trenches, or the tines of an industrial reaper. The blood is fresh, dark, clotted smeared," Pipier wrote. "Two grey shapes confront each other from a safe distance. It is, in short, a masterpiece."