Robert Tatin’s La Maison des Champs
Cossé-le-Vivien, France
Robert Tatin (1902–1983) developed an interest in art when he was very young but made a living doing masonry, carpentry, and decorating. He also served twice in the military. After the shock of World War II, Tatin devoted himself entirely to art, opening a well-regarded ceramics studio in Paris.
Like Isaiah, Tatin traveled extensively and lived in South America for many years. This had a profound impact on his work, most notably in his most famous construction La maison des champs (The Country House). At the age of 60, Tatin and his wife began building enormous sculptures to transform the property around their small Normandy home. A family of philosophical and artistic “Giants” — including Joan of Arc, da Vinci, Goya, and Van Gogh — welcomes visitors to nearly 13,000 square feet of temples, totems, dragons, celestial bodies, gardens, and reflecting pools. The site became an official museum of France in 2002, and is open to the public year-round.
Tatin’s name appears in the outdoor sculpture garden on a wall behind the Huppa.
Resources:
Biography and photos
Video segment for France 3 (2 minutes; 2017)
Button & Top Photo Credit: Atlantic Loire Valley