By Olivier Bacquet
Published on 12 Jan 21 at 10:37
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which will find its place in the heart of the church of Buigny L’Abbé (© Le Journal d’Abbeville)
For years, Dominique debrie make a stone chapel, in the workshop of his house, in the heights of Buigny-l’Abbé.
A work of patience to which he is currently putting the finishing touches. In a few days, this sculpture will find its place in the village church.
A chapel started 12 years ago
A retired craftsman for twelve years, this son of a farm worker prefers the long term to the immediacy that characterizes our time.
“I began to devote myself to sculpture the day after my professional life, unpretentious, especially when night was falling. My goal was to satisfy personal pleasure, nothing more… ”
It was over time that his project took shape and the idea of creating a religious building became obvious. Having no time pressure, he sometimes put his creation in parentheses to better come back to it.
During these years, he also made a remarkable copy of the belfry of Saint-Riquier but also a fresco representing “The Temptation of Eve”.
Precision work at all times
Tool in hand, the ancient craftsman brings the stone to life and the attention to detail is permanent. The Virgin Mary, the Angels and the numerous ornaments testify, if it were necessary, of a constant concern for precision.
The building is almost finished and the sculptor is fine-tuning the last details. The chisel, the hammer or the mallet have given way to punches, files, brushes and the dust has almost disappeared from the work surface.
His library, a source of inspiration
Twelve years ago, it was an impressive block of stone from Saint-Maximin that he tackled, to make this chapel, patiently and with passion.
Dominique Debrie lives every moment in his studio as a moment of withdrawal, far from the turpitudes of our time.
The library which is located in the immediate vicinity of his workshop is a source of inspiration. He regularly observes this or that work to feed his imagination and thus enrich his production.
A close link with the local church
The chapel will soon leave the septuagenarian’s studio to take up residence in the Saint-Jean-Baptiste church.
The mayor of Buigny-l’Abbé, René Cat, welcomes this donation. But this gift was obvious to the sculptor.
“Only a wall separated the house I grew up in from the church. I have always had a real attachment to this building. “
He has already made a stone coat of arms, the parterre near the church …
This is not the first time that the retiree has put his talents as a sculptor at the service of the village where he was born, and for which he has a real passion.
In 2014, he had already produced a stone coat of arms evoking the historical roots of the village, and which was affixed to the facade of the town hall.
It is also to him that we owe the parterre bearing the name of Buigny-l’Abbé, installed on the embankment near the church. The church, whose facade he also restored in 2015.
Driven by a passion for sculpture and a lover of heritage, the septuagenarian was able to kill two birds with one stone each time …
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