This medieval charm gives shelter to unexpected artists
Talk about a french medieval village and affirm that it seems out of a fairy tale is, for now, something that has been said ad nauseam. A truly commonplace of travel journalism. But, it is that, those of Disney they did their job very well. At least with me and my imagination.
in the west of France , on the Pays de la Loire region , in the department of Mayenne and bathed by the waters of the homonymous river; we have the opportunity to get to know one of these cities that, far from the most usual destinations, offers us little treasures in the form of nature, history, art and unexpected characters.
The charm of its colorful half-timbered facades
Laval , the capital of this department, sits next to the river with the typical splendor of a feudal villa from the 11th century . One of those towns where the narrow streets have not been stripped of their past and today continue to show colorful half-timbered facades.
I have always felt that river cities have an extraordinarily bucolic appeal. Although they are not always portentous and mighty. I suppose that as someone used to living by the sea, I value exceptionally any place that is close to a channel through which water flows naturally and, in a way, wild.
Despite its dull color, the Mayenne River shimmers in the sun. Crossed by numerous stone bridges and elegantly guarded by the Old Chateau de Laval , the torrent of water lends itself to being navigated.
Taming the locks in our favor, and heading south, we embark with all kinds of comforts on this river cruise of which we ourselves will be the captains for a few hours.
Warning to navigators -never better said-, if, like me, you are one of those who get dizzy even in a moving elevator, a cruise through the calm waters of this river is peaceful and there is no risk of seasickness. Despite everything, and as a precaution, it never hurts to include biodramine with caffeine in the menu of the day.
Do you dare to sail the Mayenne?
The river tourism gain, every day, more followers. The tranquility and landscapes offered by this area are most suggestive for those who want to rent your own houseboat for a few days and sail French waters. To do this, you do not need any type of license, but rather, n brief introductory course will be enough to be our own ship captain and set sail.
Returning to the mainland, the labyrinthine and colorful town of Laval has to its credit extraordinary monuments such as the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, the Basilica of Avesnières or the Porte Beucheresse , where, in 1844, in one of its monumental towers, the painter Henri Rousseau , who stood out for being a pioneer in naive art, a pictorial style that would come to play an important role in the city.
The Vieux-Château and its imposing circular keep rise proudly above the grayish slate roofs and, inside, shelter to the first museum dedicated entirely to naive art and singular arts.
The naíf - 'naive' in French- It is a movement in which the rules do not rule, but the spontaneity, the ignorance of techniques and theories, the interpretation of free perspective - or lack of it - and the self-taught nature of the artists.
Thus, the 'naive' imaginary and the creativity of Henri Trouillard, Joachim Quilès, of the naífs of Eastern Europe or of Rousseau himself show us a curious vision of the world of pictorial art thanks to this museum that recognizes them the courage to dare to pick up the brush without prior knowledge.
Immerse yourself in naive art
A surreal and unexpected encounter awaits us just 18 kilometers to the southwest of the naive medieval city. Among the green and flowery meadows of the Mayenne countryside, a magical open-air museum appears where the artist Robert Tatin released a whole enigmatic fantasy paradise.
Surnamed after the famous French tart, Tatin was a painter, sculptor, potter, architect and poet whose legacy is barely mentioned in small sectors of Gallic art. Born just out of the 20th century, he was an esoteric man who traveled a lot and finally created his place in the world: ** a house-sculpture that currently houses the Robert Tatin Museum **.
The museum is built around his old house which, preceded by a walkway of stylized statues that flank the passage of all visitors towards the mansion and surrounded by high walls decorated with bas-reliefs in which the history of the great civilizations of the West and East is narrated, includes a set of exotic constructions in which his personal cosmogony amazes everyone who approaches.
Really it is a place out of the ordinary and trying to understand what happens in the mind of this artist, quite an exhausting act of bravery.
In 1962, Tatin and his wife Lise bought an old house in La Frenouse , near the town of Cossé-le-Vivien, and for 21 years, they installed sculptures and created gardens until the death of the artist , whose remains rest in the garden in front of the house, according to his own wishes.
Entrance walkway to the Robert Tatin museum
Considered more mystic than artist in his native France, Tatin personified in the initial catwalk that gives access to his picturesque home, to a score of celebrities and characters that he admired or inspired him, such as Jules Verne, Pablo Picasso, Joan of Arc, the poet André Breton or Auguste Rodin.
Nevertheless, the truly wonderful happens around the lake that he himself designed , where a huge dragon With his mouth open, he guards unexpected buildings that are an eccentric sample of his work and in which juxtaposed influences of Inca, Tibetan, African, Hindu or Greco-Roman primitive art.
Surrounded by a green field so bright that it seems to phosphorise, Robert Tatin gave life to an entire orchard of surrealist madness, where art and consciousness are dedicated to man, nature and life.
His mission from him? Guard unexpected buildings