“My 13th century predecessor knew how to finely sculpt the dress of this angel”

“When I was a teenager, I already knew that I had to choose a profession that would allow me to draw. After a CAP in stonemason, I specialized in decorative engraving, in Coutances (Manche). This is where Robert Hoog, a sculptor known at the time in the world of historical monuments, took me on as an apprentice. I trained with him for thirteen years where we worked on the decorations of prestigious buildings, the Strasbourg Cathedral or the Lyon City Hall…

Then, I studied statuary in other companies. Today, I in turn support the training of young people at Tollis and I intervened at Notre-Dame as reinforcement to sculpt certain large chimeras and this magnificent statue of the angel of the Last Judgment who blows his trumpet. The original was so damaged that I first made an “intermediate copy” on which I recreated the missing parts – hands, wings, instrument… Then I transferred my reference points to a block of beautiful stone of Lavoux (Vienna) to sculpt the new angel identically.

Notre-Dame is a wonderful showcase to promote our restaurant culture and our professions, where machines are only at the service of the hand and art. But I am worried about the threat of robotization, combined with artificial intelligence, which would cause our know-how to disappear. Each time I pass in front of the angel who has returned to play his music between the towers of Notre-Dame, I think of my 13th century predecessor who knew how to so finely sculpt the folds of his dress. We must preserve this transmission of the gesture across the centuries. »