 |
| this image as on Google Streetview |
What makes this building special is that it was constructed using some 15.000 (empty) champagne bottles, a way of constructing that, as far as known, has not been applied before in the field of art environments in France
The image below, a postcard from 1971, shows what the building looked like in earlier years, when it was used as a cafe-restaurant.
 |
| a postcard from 1971 |
The site as shown in the postcard, situated along a local thoroughfare, exudes a cozy atmosphere, especially thanks to the parasols that have been set up.
To what extent the house itself, constructed using thousands of bottles, has such an atmospheric feel, requires further consideration.
 |
| this image and the next two published here iin agreement with Francis David |
To attempt an assessment of this, photographs are available, such as those in the image above and below.
They were taken at the end of the last century by Francis David, who traveled through France in his spare time to capture images of a variety of art environments.
The image above shows that the person who designed the house added some playful elements to the structure, such as the slightly forward-leaning frames of the entrance door and the windows, and also the semi-circular extensions on the right side of the front facade.
And then, in the photo above, one can see that the roof of the house has its own character and has not been made with a design that is typical for roofs.
These specific elements give a somewhat looser character to the bottle house, which was designed and built by someone named Dufrenne, about whom no further information is available.
In addition to the way of building using bottles, some other creative expressions have also been added to this site.
In this regard, the photo above, also made by Francis David, shows a sculpture of a person, presumably working on the masonry of the house.
 |
And then, there is also a sculpture of a figure situated near a section of the house, as shown in the image above. One might wonder if this is a representation of the builder of the bottle house, as the author of the Tipeek website, mentioned in the documentation, suggests.
Given the limited information publicly available about this art environment, which is also reflected in the articles about the site mentioned in the documentation, it is unclear whether these sculptures were also created by Mr. Dufrenne, but in all likelihood, they were.
This also applies to the nameplate pictured above, which, although difficult to read, states that the building bears the name Villa ma sueur (Villa my sweat).
Although little information exists about the origins and further development of this bottle house, the architectural style and the surrounding sculptural creations give this art environment a unique character.
Documentation
* Entry (undated) with a series of photographs by Francis David on the website Habitants-Paysagistes of the Lille Art Museum
* Article by Sonia Terhzaz, who visited the site in September 2024, on her website Cartographie des Rocamberlus
* Article (October 2024) on the website of Tipeek Photos
Monsieur Dufrenne
Maison Bouteilles
19 Chemin du Moulin de la Groue,
45233 Ondreville-sur-Essonne, dept Loiret, region Centre, France
can be seen from the road
No comments:
Post a Comment