Henry Brifaut, Château fantastique / Amazing castle

picture from the website Château de Callian
(not available anymore on the internet)

The castle in the community of Callian, in the Provence area in France, is private property. During the month of June 2011 it was (partly) open to the public to visit an exposition of sculptures.

It was the first time these sculptures, made by autodidact sculptor Henry Brifaut (1905-1995), were  presented to the general  public. 

Life and works

Brifaut was born into a Belgian family which was active in public life. His father, Valentin Brifaut (1875-1963) was a lawyer, a member of parliament, active in the boy scouts movement and a convinced promotor of roman-catholic values.

Brifaut jr studied law, was leader of a boy scouts group of which the later king Baudoin was a member and in general he was more attracted to the world of art than to other areas of activity and so he chose (and probably could afford) to be an autodidact sculptor.

In 1966 Henry Brifaut bought the castle in Callian, which was un-inhabited for a long time. The building had suffered from fire and looting and needed a lot of restoration, a project Brifaut undertook himself. He has been active in restoring the site from 1966 until 1977, while he already was in his sixties and seventies.

For the exposition the some 500 sculptures of people, animals and various creatures made by Brifaut, were integrated into the terraces and inner courts of the castle, in this way together forming a "visionary environment", as the organizers of the exposition said on the website which promoted the exposition (website not available anymore).

scene of the exterior of the castle, with some sculptures

picture from the website that promoted the exposition.

Documentation

* Folder about Callian with the story of the castle and Brifaut's activities

* Thierry Scaillet, Valentin et Henry Brifaut, Parcours de vie d'un père et d'un fils. Bruxelles (Ed. Event Business), 2008. -208 p

Henry Brifaut

Exposition "Bâtisseur de l'imaginaire"

Chateau de Callian

83440 Callian, dept Var, region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France