The 84-year-old artist from Nîmes makes a donation to the village of his childhood.
“A big moment.” Angel Pobo, the new mayor of Aubais, does not hide the emotion he had when he went to Claude Viallat’s studio with his deputy Richard Béraud to collect the works that the internationally renowned painter has just given to the village of his childhood. Nor his enthusiasm for the project that has just been born …
In the old rectory of the village, the new municipality wants to create a museum that will showcase the work of the artist. “No one is a prophet in his own country, regrets the mayor, but I have always found that he was not given the tribute he deserved. “
Miniatures and a fresco
The injustice should be repaired with this new cultural place which will present the ten paintings recently donated, as well as the colorful miniatures, regularly created by Claude Viallat on Polaroid formats to announce the tenantas and the village festivals and a vast fresco produced by the artist in the early 1960s, upon his return from Algeria.
The work will have to be restored, it had been ordered from Claude Viallat by the municipality of Charles Raynaud, at the time for 10,000 francs.
This museum will also present the history of the village, historical documents, archaeological or lapidary elements resulting from the restoration of the castle. An association has been created. Claude Viallat, who had already chaired the Aubais bullfighting club, agreed to take the honorary presidency.
Contacts with Stéphane Bern
Contacts have already been made with Stéphane Bern’s heritage mission and with the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs which supports the process, associating the goodwill of people passionate about the heritage of the very dynamic village at the cultural level, in particular thanks to the Four Seasons of art. The village also hopes for support through sponsorship.
But the project is more ambitious. Angel Pobo wants to create a real circuit around heritage, including this new museum, but also the church, the castle garden with its vaulted rooms, its tower and its medieval part. This involves extensive restoration work that should be spread over many years, but Angel Pobo would like the museum to see the light of day within three years.
And that the public can then follow the development of the center of this village, among the most beautiful in the Gard.
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