Joseph Ferdinand Cheval

Japanese: シュバル（英語表記）Joseph Ferdinand Cheval

1836‐1924
He was from Hauterives, a rural town in the Drôme department in southeastern France. He was an amateur architect who was discovered after his death by Breton and others, and was nicknamed "Le Facteur Cheval" because of his main occupation. He built a gigantic "Ideal Palace" (1879-1912) single-handedly in his garden using oddly shaped stones and shells he found on his way home from his daily postal deliveries, piling them up and sculpting them. The existing building is highly fantastical and uninfluenced by any specialized knowledge, but in some ways it has something in common with the Art Nouveau architecture of Gaudi and others, and was also a precursor to Surrealism.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

1836‐1924
フランス南東部，ドローム県の田舎町オートリーブHauterivesの人。死後ブルトンらによって発見された素人建築家で，その本業のゆえに〈郵便配達夫シュバルle Facteur Cheval〉と呼ばれる。毎日の郵便配達の帰り道で見つけた奇妙な形の石や貝殻を庭に積み上げ，彫刻し，ただひとりで巨大な〈理想の宮殿〉を造りあげた(1879‐1912)。現存するこの建築物はきわめて幻想的なもので，どんな専門的知識の影響もうけていないが，ある点ではガウディらのアール･ヌーボー建築と通じるものをもち，シュルレアリスムの先駆をなしてもいる。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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