A feeling that goes down in history…
Since that day I have received three pieces of information entitled
“The threat on Delacroix’s painting”
and I admit that the fourth piece of information coming from the Maison des Artistes pushed me to send a letter directly to Rémy Aron, president of the Maison des Artistes.
The letter received is entitled "Call to Artists for an immediate moratorium"...
My long-standing feelings about heritage dictated the letter that I am delivering to you here.
I don't know your reactions to reading my text, but it is a position that is close to my heart as an architect specializing in renovation and as an artist with an academic background.
“Hello Remy,
At first reading, I had the desire not to get involved in information which ultimately raised many other feelings for me.
Heritage… this word loaded with such phenomenal value that it sometimes becomes inhuman. (this is somewhat the case since we respect an old stone more than an elderly person)
Just to say that artistic, architectural and social heritage has its own existence and that it seems to me totally abusive to be permanently under the control of exaggeration.
For my part, each material or immaterial element has an existence (birth, life and decline) including life accidents (fire, floods, theft, damage, etc.)
And humans included are the first to be part of it. I say the HUMAN, the man or woman who is born and who does not have the same background as his neighbor. One will live without the slightest operation, the other will have a titanium tibia at 40 years old.
All this to say, I would prefer that we ennoble our respective lives as living artists… obviously I have a deep respect for the works or monuments that have gone through history.
But should we drown in sorrow at this point for a painting by Delacroix which will undergo a more or less qualitative restoration? I feel more saddened to know that Van Gogh sold only one painting during his lifetime whereas today
his works are subject to inflation.
It would seem more profoundly judicious to me to combat this image of the “cursed artist” that we can sell off in all public places and shouting “Art for all”
Today I just have a simple hope when I read that in Belgium professional artists will be able to claim a resource if their income is low because this country has been able to qualify the presence of their living artists.
Let us not forget that heritage is made up of your work and mine of yesterday…. So let's not let ourselves be overwhelmed and work to ensure that our work as living comforts our contemporaries.
You will have understood, heritage through my vision as an artist and perhaps even more so as an architect has an unfortunate tendency to challenge me on common sense. I would not venture into the subject of the restoration of Notre Dame in Paris.
My artistic education, which began at the Strasbourg School many years ago, allowed me to take courses classified as academic with relish, but for all that I cannot create a cult of heritage.
My skills in the field of painting restoration are not expert enough to tell me that the fight over this restoration is justified.
I couldn't resist the call from the Maison des Artistes email to express my overall feelings to you.
Have a nice end of the day
Best regards
Alain Rouschmeyer
For my part, the position of a Maison des Artistes is not to be the project manager or the critic of a restoration (the constraints and skills of which are another matter) but to be listening and vigilant to the living artists who compose it.
I am not giving you the response received here, for reasons of confidentiality and because I consider the response to be so poorly argued that it appears to me to be of no interest and unrelated to my remarks.
I invite you to leave a comment if this subject inspires you.
