Le Palais Idéal du Facteur Cheval (by kerouac2)

[Deleted]

We have all read stories about the most ordinary people doing the most extraordinary things, but postman Ferdinand Cheval is considered in France to be in a category all by himself. He attended primary school before becoming a baker's apprentice for a few years, but the profession into which he finally settled was letter carrier. He was based in the small town of Hauterives in the Drôme department, and his mail route -- which he did on foot every day -- was 32 kilometers long. He had lots of time to daydream during those endless walks, and he also enjoyed picking up interesting rocks along the way.

Rocks seem to be a local obsession in Hauterives, perhaps also in the surrounding towns, but I don't know. In any case, I found a number of examples of an unusual architectual technique in the town.

One day, at the age of 43, Ferdinand Cheval picked up a very unusual rock and it set off the decision to build the imaginary palace that he had been dreaming of on his mail round.

I think that most of us would be rather tired if we had to walk 32 kilometers every day, but Postman Cheval spent the free time of the next 33 years building what he called his "ideal palace." He had no artistic or architectural training and he spent night after night working all alone until he finally completed it in 1912.

He was married and widowed twice and his children also died before him.

He used rocks, snails, seashells and lime mortar. And this is what he built.



















There are places where you can walk inside or go upstairs.

[Deleted]

The "3 Giants" are Caesar, Vercingétorix and Archimedes.





Obviously, Ferdinand had access to books, but I suspect that he got many of his ideas from postcards that he delivered.













The inside is almost as ornate as the outside.

[Deleted]

I absolutely love looking for surprising details, and you can spend lots of time doing it. There is always something you didn't notice.













This is how long he spent working on his palace.

[Deleted]

The town of Hauterives is very proud to be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the completion of the Palais Idéal this year.



Nice place to stop for a couple of hours...

Ferdinand Cheval wanted to be entombed in his palace, but it is against the law in France to have a solitary private grave. Therefore, after completing his work in 1912, he spent 1914 to 1922 building his own tomb in the village cemetery. He was 86 years old by then, and he died at age 88 in 1924. I decided to take a walk through the fields to the cemetery. It was getting really hot by then and clearly no other visitors wanted to make the same effort. I picked up a nice rock along the way to put on his tomb.

The cemetery at last! It looks like the tomb will be easy to find.





Ferdinand is in here with a lot of other people.







squirrel or demon?









The flowers will always remain fresh.

I really enjoyed my little stop at the Palais Idéal.

All of the explanations that I didn't give!

[mossie]

What an absolute tour de force, wish I had one tenth of his vision and energy.
Did Gaudi obtain inspiration here?
I am reminded of a description of Las Vegas. "Awfully wonderful, or wonderfully awful"

[tod2]

Absolutely incredible! Thank you so much for showing this unique and one-of-a-kind palace. This is the sort of unusual interest I like to find on my travels! I suppose if it were in England it would be called a 'folly'. Great photos!

[mossie]

And if it was in England Elfin Safety would never let you get within 100 yards of it

[bjd]

I had heard of it but had never seen it. From a distance it rather reminds me of Angkor Wat or some Hindu temples.

[Breeze]

Things seem to be holding up pretty well. How big is this place? How many buildings? Is there part of it where he and his family lived? I wonder if he felt that the palace was actually completed.

He had time to court a second wife?

Whenever I see this kind of long-term creativity, I always wonder how much of the project comes from constantly refreshed inspiration and how much from compulsion. Sometimes I think, with outsider art, that I see the creator’s joy in the work, but that is rare. More often it seems to me that the person is compelled to do it, and not happily compelled.

I have to admit, if it’s aesthetically pleasing to me I am more likely to think that the artist did it with joy and if it’s a mass of writhing snakes or parachute fabric I think they had an unpleasant obsession.

The houses in Hauterives reminded me of a house in a town near us with long smooth stones applied to its facade; the neighbors called it the French bread house.

[Deleted]

I don't know where his actual house was, because there does not seem to be a building nearby that might have been it. The entrance building/visitor center is a relatively recent construction, so it certainly was not that.

I am intrigued as well at the good repair of the Palais. Even though it is "worn" as can be seen in my pictures, I didn't see anything broken off or erased. There must clearly be some upkeep, but it continues to look pleasantly authentic.

[bixaorellana]

This is one of the most fabulous -- in the original sense of the word -- things ever shown on this forum, & certainly instantly became one of my favorites.

It's deeply compelling, mildly disturbing, as all real art can be, & so awe inspiring that someone could and would externalize his interior vision so completely, grandly, and concretely.

Just wonderful, all the way through, Kerouac -- lovely and interesting even beyond the stated subject matter.

I absolutely love the "so there!" aspect of his tomb. How gratifying that his town continues to honor their postman & his vision.

[alonzo]

The other people in the cemetery must be really jealous.

[kerouac2]

After all of these years, a movie has finally been made about him. Frankly, I am thrilled.

[bixaorellana]

Yes, that is thrilling! I see it's being released on the 16th. Looking forward to your review in a few days.

[lagatta]

Yes, I'll be looking forward to that as well.

[kerouac2]

Here is more information about the ideal palace.

[kerouac2]

When I review places that I have visited in the past and to which I would like to return, this is on my list, even though it is only worth a few hours of anyone's time. But it is in a lovely part of France, and there are many other things to do and see in the region.

I came across a few postcards that I bought there and must find some people to send them to.

[tod2]

I'm not ashamed to say I would love one Kerouac….

[cheerypeabrain]

Gosh, what a fascinating place. Beautifully captured. Very weird tho....

[kerouac2]

As I try to imagine future road trips in France, this is a place to which I would love to return.

[htmb]

So you said before, August 2020. :-)

[kerouac2]

I am only marching to my grave.

[htmb]

Along with the rest of us…

This was a very interesting report. I’m glad it popped up again. I’d like to see more of this part of France. So far, what I’ve seen has been through train windows.