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France
Western Europe
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Hauterives, Drome,
Le Palais Idéal - Ferdinand Cheval
1836-1924
Environment
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Information:
Hauterives, France
"The Palais Idéal, built by Ferdinand Cheval near Lyon, is one of the world's most astounding visionary structures. The country postman was fascinated by unusually shaped stones and used them as raw material in his monumental quest to build the palace of his dreams."
"The product of 33 years of unaided toil, the Palais mixes Western and Oriental styles, and includes sculptural figures, beasts, twisting vine roots and concrete palm trees. Winding steps lead to turrets and columns encrusted with ornament. Beneath, a grotto-like crypt holds a shrine to the trusty wheelbarrow that was his daily companion in his search for materials. Along the east facade stand huge classical figures: Caesar, Vercingétorix and Archimedes. Tablets exhibit Cheval's poems and messages. At the age of 80, he was refused permission to use the Palais as his burying place, and so built for himself an extraordinary tomb in the local churchyard."
For additional images and information, visit: Raw Vision Magazine.
Le Palais Idéal: 26390 Hauterives, France, Tel: + 33 (0) 475 68 81 19.
Text and images are from "Fantasy Worlds" by Deidi Von Schaewen and John Maizels, 1999
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Bibliography:
"Fantasy Worlds" by Deidi Von Schaewen and John Maizels, Taschen, New York, 1999.
"Raw Vision Outsider Art Sourcebook" Raw Vision, Ltd., 2002
"Self-Made Worlds: Visionary Environments" by Roger Manley and Mark Sloan, Aperture, New York, 1997. |
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