James Bouillé
Encyclopedia
James Bouillé was a French architect based in Brittany
.
(Côtes-d'Armor
) He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, until he was mobilized after the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. After the war, he became a member of the Breton nationalist political movement Breiz Atao
.
He was one of the founders in 1923 of the artistic movement Seiz Breur
, along with Jeanne Malivel
and René-Yves Creston
. His aim was to revitalise Breton sacred art: crosses, votive objects and traditional crafts. He also designed and supported pottery, ceramics, embroidery and cabinetmaking. Between 1924 and 1935, he was an architect in Perros-Guirec, where he developed a successful practice building holiday villas.
In 1929 he joined with Xavier de Langlais
to found An Droellen, a workshop of Breton Christian art. The duo worked closely together on a number of projects, including the college chapel of St. Joseph in Lannion
. The workshop included among its members Mlle Ménard (glazier), Madame Planiol (restoration of priestly vestments) and Jules-Charles Le Bozec
(sculptor).
In the late 1930s Bouillé created the Chapel of Koat-Keo in Scrignac
(Finistère
), built at the initiative of his friend Abbot Jean-Marie Perrot
, founder of the Breton Catholic youth organization Bleun-Brug
, which promoted traditional Breton culture. The chapel is seen as a significant attempt to create a distinctive modern Breton sacred architecture.
During the World War II, Perrot and Breun-Blug were suspected of collaborationist activity. In 1941, Bouillé was made director of Bleun-Brug and sat on the Advisory Committee of Brittany, as its representative. The Committee was seen by resistance activists as part of the collaborationist régime. At this time he advocated a radical plan to build a new Breton capital city to be called "Brittia", which would be a "Celtic Brasilia" on the shores of Lake Guerlédan. Due to his association with Perrot and the committee, he was interned after the Liberation of France. He died in 1945, as a result of his internment.
In Brittany, at least nine streets bear his name.
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
.
Biography
Bouillé was born in GuingampGuingamp
Guingamp is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Guingamp are called guingampais.-Breton language:...
(Côtes-d'Armor
Côtes-d'Armor
Côtes-d'Armor is a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France.-History:Côtes-du-Nord was one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Brittany. Its name was changed in 1990 to...
) He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, until he was mobilized after the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. After the war, he became a member of the Breton nationalist political movement Breiz Atao
Breiz Atao
Breiz Atao , was a Breton nationalist journal in the mid-twentieth century. The term is also used for the broader movement associated with the journal's political position....
.
He was one of the founders in 1923 of the artistic movement Seiz Breur
Seiz Breur
Seiz Breur was an artistic movement founded in 1923 in Brittany. Although it adopted the symbolic name seiz breur, meaning seven brothers in the Breton language, this did not refer to the number of members, but to the title of a folk-story...
, along with Jeanne Malivel
Jeanne Malivel
Jeanne Malivel was a Breton designer and illustrator who inspired the Breton nationalist art movement Seiz Breur.Originally from Loudéac, she revived the art of woodblock printing in her illustrations for the Breton nationalist book The History of our Brittany by Jeanne Coroller-Danio in 1922...
and René-Yves Creston
René-Yves Creston
René-Yves Creston , born René Pierre Joseph Creston, was a Breton artist, designer and ethnographer who founded the Breton nationalist art movement Seiz Breur...
. His aim was to revitalise Breton sacred art: crosses, votive objects and traditional crafts. He also designed and supported pottery, ceramics, embroidery and cabinetmaking. Between 1924 and 1935, he was an architect in Perros-Guirec, where he developed a successful practice building holiday villas.
In 1929 he joined with Xavier de Langlais
Xavier de Langlais
Xavier de Langlais was a Breton painter, printmaker and writer. He usually signed his work with the name Langleiz, a Breton language version of his surname.-Early career:...
to found An Droellen, a workshop of Breton Christian art. The duo worked closely together on a number of projects, including the college chapel of St. Joseph in Lannion
Lannion
Lannion is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is a subpréfecture of Côtes-d'Armor, the capital of Trégor and the center of an urban area of almost 60,000 inhabitants.-Population:...
. The workshop included among its members Mlle Ménard (glazier), Madame Planiol (restoration of priestly vestments) and Jules-Charles Le Bozec
Jules-Charles Le Bozec
Jules-Charles Le Bozec was a French sculptor, whose work reflects a commitment to the local design traditions of his native province of Brittany.-Biography:...
(sculptor).
In the late 1930s Bouillé created the Chapel of Koat-Keo in Scrignac
Scrignac
Scrignac is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.-Population:Inhabitants of Scrignac are called in French Scrignacois.-References:** -External links:*...
(Finistère
Finistère
Finistère is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.-History:The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel...
), built at the initiative of his friend Abbot Jean-Marie Perrot
Jean-Marie Perrot
The abbé Jean-Marie Perrot, in Breton Yann Vari Perrot , was a French priest, Breton independentist and collaborator assassinated by the communist resistance. He was the founder of the Breton Catholic movement Bleun-Brug.- Early life :Perrot was raised in a provincial Breton-speaking family...
, founder of the Breton Catholic youth organization Bleun-Brug
Bleun-Brug
Bleun-Brug is a Catholic association oriented towards Breton nationalism.-Origins:The group was created in 1905 by abbé Jean-Marie Perrot, with a name devised at the 1905 conference of the Union Régionaliste Bretonne at Kerjean Castle. The heather symbolizes Breton tenacity...
, which promoted traditional Breton culture. The chapel is seen as a significant attempt to create a distinctive modern Breton sacred architecture.
During the World War II, Perrot and Breun-Blug were suspected of collaborationist activity. In 1941, Bouillé was made director of Bleun-Brug and sat on the Advisory Committee of Brittany, as its representative. The Committee was seen by resistance activists as part of the collaborationist régime. At this time he advocated a radical plan to build a new Breton capital city to be called "Brittia", which would be a "Celtic Brasilia" on the shores of Lake Guerlédan. Due to his association with Perrot and the committee, he was interned after the Liberation of France. He died in 1945, as a result of his internment.
In Brittany, at least nine streets bear his name.
Major buildings
- 1933: holiday home, known as Kelenn, 18 chemin de Quo-Vadis, subdivision of Tourony-plage at Tégastel
- 1936-1937: Chapelle de l'Institution Saint-Joseph (in fact Saint-Joseph college) in Lannion
- 1937: Chapel Koat-Keo at ScrignacScrignacScrignac is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.-Population:Inhabitants of Scrignac are called in French Scrignacois.-References:** -External links:*...
, created for the Abbot Perrot, with sculptures by Jules-Charles Le Bozec. (This building was designated as a Monument historiqueMonument historiqueA monument historique is a National Heritage Site of France. It also refers to a state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their...
in 1997). - 1938: Extension to the chapelle de Ploumanac'h, commune de Perros-Guirec 1938
- 1939: maison de villégiature (holiday home), known as Avel Dro, 2 rue du Belvédère à Trestrignel, commune de Perros-Guirec.
Publications
- Sketla Segobrani. 3 levr moulet e ti René Prud'homme. Saint-BrieucSaint-BrieucSaint-Brieuc is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.-History:Saint-Brieuc is named after a Welsh monk Brioc, who evangelized the region in the 6th century and established an oratory there...
, (1923), 3 volumes (with François Vallée, Meven Mordiern, Émile Ernault) - Sketla segobrani kenta nevrenn: dis atir, teutatis. Prud'homme - Saint-Brieuc (1923).
- Sketla segobrani eil kevrenn: trede levr: lugus. Prud'homme - Saint-Brieuc (1923).
- . Buhez Breiz - Quimper (1924). Paper delivered at the congress of Bleun Brug at LesnevenLesnevenLesneven is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France.It lies northeast of Brest, about from the English Channel in the middle of the Leon plateau.-History:...
l12 September 1923. - L'art en Bretagne. Éditions de Buhez Breiz (1924). Paper delivered at the Panceltic Congress, Quimper, 9 September 1924.
- Sketla segobrani pevare [trede] kevrenn: tanaris, esus. Prud'homme - Saint-Brieuc (1925).
- Habitation bretonne. Massin Ch. et Cie - Paris (1926). The Regional Art of France
- L'architecture bretonne moderne. Éditions Romanance - Paris (1936).