This is the story of a man whose father wanted that he would succeed him as director of a metallurgical company in Paris, but who in 1968, in his early thirties, exchanged the city for the Norman countryside, where he on a family estate, driven by a passion for the Romanesque and Gothic building style, single handedly created a dungeon and an abbey.

The story, told by his daughter Sylvaine Lobert, begins with Lobert’s departure from Paris and focuses on Lobert's activities as a self-taught artist, his passion for the construction style in eras of the past and the enrichment of the Norman landscape provided by this architecture.

This article is followed by a short biography of the artist.

Didier Lobert and his art environment is also included in my weblog

Sylvaine Lobert

The Dungeon of Bouillon Viéville and

the Abbey of Monthulé

Didier Lobert de Bouillon Vieville is a painter who left Paris to devote himself to artistic creativity in the countryside. He went to the wonderful valley of the Avre, in Eure, where the family property was located, to establish his painter's studio there

He chose the shape of a dungeon for the design of that studio, because he did not want to spoil the natural environment with a building eager for light. It therefore became an upright, rising structure, which also restored the former character of the landscape.

The studio became a formidable epic of the maker and the builder. Working with a lot of effort, patience and passion, and focused on the long term, Didier Lobert made a work of art in the countryside of Saint Germain sur Avre. In a location where there might already be one, a medieval castle came about ... built in the 20th century ... Not far from the former border with France, today it displays the colors of Normandy.

This Dungeon annex studio was in fact the pretext to better discover and develop the exceptional inner flame that inspired Didier Lobert.

After the extraordinary adventure of building in medieval style, working with concrete, current techniques and contemporary materials as experienced during the slow development of the Dungeon, it was "very natural" that Lobert wanted to give his house, which showed signs of decline, a masterful artistic treatment.

From the year 2000 he transformed it into a lush abbey house in Romanesque and Gothic style.

A manifesto of beauty

Didier Lobert has little appreciation for the utilitarian, mercantile, mechanistic and cold civilization in which we are resolutely immersed. He wants to follow in the footsteps of our former builders and the values of balance, art of living and beauty of which they knew the secret.

From 1968 until now he has patiently and spectacularly demonstrated how concrete and contemporary building methods can be used to erect beautiful buildings in the manner of the ancients, with whom he is deeply connected in spirit. In this way he proves that we can choose to maintain these wonderful forms of beauty, to which he brings such a tribute.

The passion of the designer, who works in the Romanesque and Gothic style, knows no bounds. He tirelessly experiments with all forms of adaptation of his materials to these ancient archetypes.

His message indicates that the architectural forms of the 12th century, especially in religious architecture, magnified the natural forms of trees and flowers, rainbows, etc. that inspired them, thereby creating a hymn to the creation and its Maker.

He wants to show that we very well can continue building with contemporary materials and resources and thereby bring the essential forms of beauty to life in a way the ancients were able to.

An art domain in the context of heritage and nature

The Dungeon of Bouillon Vieville and the Abbey of Monthulé, designer buildings, form the background for a collection of painted and sculpted works made by the same artist, all located in a green park of one hectare, which offers the prospect to look at the buildings while preserving their environment;

All this forms a unique, exceptional heritage and artistic ensemble that contributes to maintaining the appeal of the countryside. A charming place, traditionally appreciated by painters, nestled between wooded riverbanks and hedges and a village that surrounds the slender 14th-century spire of the bell tower, while Lobert's work that has already been noticed worldwide, adds an element of cultural and tourist interest

A short biography of Didier Lobert

Didier Lobert “de Bouillon Viéville” is a painter who left Paris and retreated to the countryside in order to devote himself to artistic pursuits. His destination was his family’s property in the beautiful valley of the Avre, in the Eure region of France, and it was here that he intended to construct his painting studio.

He chose the form of a medieval castle in order to complement the area’s environment, and, beginning in 1968, designed a high concrete structure that was reminiscent of early architecture that may possibly have been found in the region. An epic creator and builder, he was patient, determined, and passionate, and committed to the project over the long-term, so his studio became a work of art.

Here, in the countryside of Saint Germain sur Avre, his twentieth-century medieval-style castle displays the colors of Normandy, as it is located not far from its earlier borders with France. Didier Lobert turned into a master architect as he interpreted Romanesque- and Gothic-era design constructs, and the castle studio became the spark for him to better discover and fan his exceptional internal flame of creativity.

Using concrete, contemporary techniques, and modern materials for the lengthy and laborious building process of constructing the medieval-style castle studio was an extraordinary adventure, and it was therefore “quite natural” for him to later decide to enhance his own home, which had fallen into disrepair, with a complementary masterful artistic treatment. Beginning in the year 2000, he began its transformation into a sumptuous Romanesque- and Gothic-style abbey house.

A manifestation of beauty

With little support or inspiration from the utilitarian, mercantilist, mechanistic, and cold civilization within which we are so firmly entrenched, Didier Lobert proceeded to reinstate the noble balance of the arts of living well, and of including beauty in our lives: secrets that were well known and practiced by the Elders of old. The passion of the Romanesque and Gothic designers knew no limits, and Lobert tirelessly experimented in order to adapt his contemporary materials to ancient archetypes.

He created a spectacular structure, dazzling to the eyes, transforming concrete with modern construction methods into a magnificent building referencing the glorious constructions of days gone by. He noted that the architectural forms of the twelfth century, particularly evident in examples of religious architecture, were often based on and inspired by the natural forms of trees, flowers, rainbows, and more, motifs that offered a tangible hymn to Creation itself and to the Creator. He viscerally absorbed these aesthetics into his spirit, thus proving, as he paid homage to them through his own building, that we can choose to perpetuate the great forms and styles of beauty practiced by our Elders despite the fact that we no longer use the same materials or techniques to achieve them.

An area of artistic and cultural heritage

Lobert considers his buildings, the Dungeon of Bouillon Viéville and the Monthulé Abbey, to be a complete and single work, as all components were built, painted, and sculpted by the same artist. They are set within a green one-hectare park, a unique and exceptional artistic heritage site that has become a retreat enabling visitors to contemplate the buildings within their natural environment at the same time that it helps to preserve that environment. It is a traditional and charming rural site, prized by painters, located between the river banks of woodland groves and the village, itself built up around the fine spire of its 14th century bell tower. As a whole, it enhances the cultural and touristic interest of an area that has already garnered worldwide attention.

Local Disputes

It is not easy to be the creator of a visionary environment, a self-taught and independent creator of an original space shaped by the multiplicity of one’s own creative activities. Lobert has found, as have so many artists in this genre, that while some viewers are fascinated by his work, others – even neighbors or local government officials – are indifferent or even hostile toward it. At the present time, despite the outstanding cultural and artistic heritage that it presents, Lobert’s site, rather than being encouraged and supported by the French authorities, has become the subject of threatened closures, prohibition of visitors, and even, potentially, eviction and destruction of his work, with no regard for the time he has put into building the site nor his advanced age.

Association

Founded in 2008 by the artist’s daughter, an association of friends of the site works to defend, support, and promote the creations of Didier Lobert de Bouillon de Viéville. With approximately fifty active members and supporters, others are encouraged to join les “Amis du donjon de Bouillon Viéville.

Text by Sylvaine Lobert, translated from the French by Jo Farb Hernández

The original French text of Sylvaine Lobert’s article

Didier Lobert «de Bouillon Viéville» est un artiste peintre qui a quitté Paris pour se consacrer à la création artistique, à la campagne, choisissant la délicieuse vallée de l’Avre, dans l’Eure, où se trouvait la propriété familiale, pour construire son atelier de peinture

Il choisit la forme d’une tour donjonnée pour ne pas déparer l’environnement naturel par un bâtiment avide de lumière, donc dressé en hauteur, et pour rendre à la campagne son caractère d’autrefois.

Une formidable épopée de créateur et de bâtisseur, patiente acharnée et passionnée, de longue haleine, faisant de cet atelier une œuvre d’art, fit surgir en la campagne de Saint Germain sur Avre, à un emplacement où il y en eut peut-être jadis un, un château médiéval...du XXème siècle, qui arbore aujourd’hui les couleurs de la Normandie non loin de sa frontière d’antan avec la France.

Devenu résolument concepteur architectone roman et ogival, il transforme sa maison en demeure de style abbatial

Ce donjon-atelier fut en fait le prétexte pour mieux découvrir et épanouir la flamme intérieure exceptionnelle dont Didier Lobert était porteur.

Après l’extraordinaire aventure de construction dans la forme médiévale, à partir de béton, de techniques actuelles et de matériaux contemporains vécue lors de la lente élaboration du donjon, c’est « tout naturellement » qu’il préféra appliquer à sa maison d’habitation, qui donnait des signes de délabrement, un traitement artistique magistral, la transformant à partir de l’an 2000 en somptueuse demeure abbatiale de style roman et ogival.

Un manifeste de beauté

Supportant mal la civilisation utilitariste, mercantile, mécaniste et froide, dans laquelle nous nous sommes résolument enfoncés, il veut redonner leurs lettres de noblesse aux valeurs d’équilibre, d’art de vivre et de beauté dont nos anciens constructeurs avaient le secret.

Il a alors patiemment déployé de 1968 à nos jours un manifeste spectaculaire pour nos yeux éblouis, en transformant le béton et les méthodes de construction contemporaines en moyens de faire surgir de magnifiques édifices à la manière des Anciens, dont il est intimement imprégné de l’esprit, prouvant ainsi que nous pouvons choisir de faire perdurer ces grandes formes de beauté, auxquelles il rend si bien hommage.

La passion du concepteur de style roman et ogival ne connaît plus de limites et il expérimente et décline inlassablement toutes formes d’adaptation de ces matériaux à ces archétypes anciens.

Son message indique que les formes architecturales du XIIème siècle, en particulier dans l’architecture religieuse, magnifiaient les formes naturelles des arbres et des fleurs, des arcs en ciel, etc…dont elles s’inspiraient, élevant un hymne à la Création et au Créateur.

Il veut montrer que l’on peut très bien continuer à bâtir et faire vivre les formes de beauté accomplies dont les Anciens étaient capables, avec des matériaux et moyens contemporains.

Un domaine patrimonial et naturel d’art

Le donjon de Bouillon Viéville et l’abbaye de Monthulé, édifices de créateur, serviront d’écrin à tout un oeuvre peint et sculpté élaboré par le même artiste, dans un parc vert d’un hectare, qui donne du recul pour contempler les édifices tout en préservant leur environnement ;

Le tout forme un ensemble artistique et patrimonial unique et exceptionnel et contribue à conserver son attrait à la campagne de ce site de charme traditionnellement prisé par les peintres, entre bords de rivière boisés et bocagers et village massé autour de la fine flèche de son clocher du XIVème siècle, tout en lui ajoutant une note d’intérêt culturel et touristique déjà remarquée au plan mondial.