Les Rochers Sculptés (The Sculpted Rocks)Adolphe-Julien (Abbé) Fouré (1910)
Extant
16 Chemin des Rochers Sculptés, Saint-Malo, Bretagne, 35400, France
The cabin disappeared during World War II and almost all the wooden sculptures are now gone. The extensive rock sculptures remain, however, and the site is open to tourists. Although the high entrance fee required to tour the property restricts the number of visitors, foot traffic and the effects of weather are gradually eroding the sculpture, which currently lacks protected status.
About the Artist/Site
Born in Saint-Thual in Brittany (France), Adolphe-Julien was ordained as a priest in 1863 and he went on to serve in various Breton communities. In 1894, as rector of the community of Langoët, he tried to solve a financial problem the parish faced, but took a stand his superiors disagreed with. Notwithstanding a petition in his favor from the local population, he was dismissed from his post. Still a priest, but now without a parish, in October 1894 Fouré retired to a cabin along the coast, in Rothéneuf, not far from Saint-Malo. Although Abbé (“Father”) Fouré would later be known as “the hermit of Rothéneuf,” he actually welcomed visitors to his site, to view his art.
The retired priest dedicated himself to creating discrete sculptures out of wood, and to carving figures directly into the rocky coastline alongside his cabin, which he opened to guests. Fouré placed his wooden sculptures in and around his cabin and sold postcards depicting himself among sculptures with folkloric, religious and historical themes. Among the 300 figures he carved into the rocks with the help of an elderly assistant were imagined portraits of a local, 16th-century family reputed to be pirates and bandits, and depictions of the Virgin Mary.
The cabin disappeared during World War II and almost all the wooden sculptures are now gone. The extensive rock sculptures remain, however, and the site is open to tourists. Although the high entrance fee required to tour the property restricts the number of visitors, foot traffic and the effects of weather are gradually eroding the sculpture, which currently lacks protected status.
~Henk van Es
Materials
rock, wood
SPACES Archives Holdings
SPACES holding include slides, negatives and postcards.
Related Documents
Map & Site Information
16 Chemin des Rochers Sculptés
Saint-Malo, Bretagne, 35400
fr
Latitude/Longitude: 48.6852429 / -1.9671695
Nearby Environments
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