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picture from the French magazine Zon'art ¹ |
Above scene can be seen when driving the road from Auray to Quiberon in the Morbihan area of Brittany in France.
To take a better look stop at the road-side café at the spot known as Mont Salut, and find a seat on the terrace
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picture from the nostaledonie weblog |
Life and works
These sculptures from tree stumps have been made by André Morvan (1934-2019) who all his life has lived around the Mont Salut location.
Morvan had a job as a carpenter and he probably began making the wooden sculptures once he had become retired in the 1990s.
picture courtesy of Sophie Lepetit
Fascinated by old trees and tree stumps, he would see all kind of personalities and representations in these trunks and by adapting them he succeeded in bringing their soul to life.
The sculptures are exposed all around the café. Some of them are between two and three meters high.
Documentation
* pictures on weblog les grigris de Sophie (February 7, 2011)
* above weblog also has an article by Michel Leroux entitled From Hell, I made paradise; a translation into English is available in OEE texts
* article about the site by Sonia Terhzaz on her website Cartographie des Rocamberlus (environments d'art singulier), reporting the visit she paid in June 2018.
Video
* fragment about the site on the North France trip video by Serflac (You Tube, starts at 12.13, cannot be embedded here)
note
¹ Zon'art magazine (1999-2008) isn't available anymore on the internet; see also OEE-texts
first published March 2010, last revised April 2023
first published March 2010, last revised April 2023
André Morvan
Jardin de sculptures
Jardin de sculptures
Mont-Salut
56400 Ploemel, dept Morbihan, region Brittany, France
can be seen from the road
(and if you order a drink you can sit on the terrace and watch from there)
streetview
streetview
Henk, this looks absolutely fabulous, I'm definitely going to go take a look the first chance I get... and yet again, this is another place I'd never heard of.
ReplyDeleteYou never cease to amaze me...
Hi Owen, Did you note that I introduced Google's streetview in the adress? Makes it possible to virtually look around yourself.
ReplyDeleteTaking a look you can see how extended the site is...all these sculptures on a row...)
(Just thought about this possibility some weeks ago. Rather funny to use such a gadget in a post. There is also such a link in the Victor IV post, with a beautiful view of the Amstel river in Amsterdam)
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI've been reading your blog for a few months now and thought I'd finally say hi. I've really been enjoying your posts, and next time I'm in Brittany I definitely plan to try and look in on café Mont Salut. Thanks!
Hi, thanks for saying hi ;-))
ReplyDeleteAm glad you like what I am writing about. The Morbihan area has a lot to offer visitors, like wonderful megalithic sites. beaches and nice villages and small cities. And Mont Salut would be a nice stop for a drink. All the best!
Nothing more to say Henk, but that indeed another fascinating post. Wooden sculptures, all of those sculptures as a matter of fact, are superb, they all gice such a surrealistic mood to the place, it would be gret go there and take more pics.
ReplyDeleteWish you a great weekend,, all the best!!
Hi again,
ReplyDeleteYes, I love Morbihan, and you're right about the megalithic sites and beaches. The first time I went through that part of the world was to see Carnac, which is just amazing. My husband has family in Brittany, though not in Morbihan, but hopefully I'll make it down there again this summer.
Also, I am thinking of making a blog roll over on my blog... would it be it alright to add a link to you?
@jodi
ReplyDeleteHi, of course, I would welcome a link to my blog, thanks a lot.