In the Summer of 2008 Christian and I visited the ideal palace which the Hauterives rural postman Ferdinand Cheval (1836-1924) built on his own over a period of thirty three years of harsh discipline and perseverance, after having tripped on an exquisite stone, whose shape is said to have inspired him.
A self-taught sculptor and above all a visionary Cheval started collecting stones that he bound together with lime, mortar and cement in a mix of styles inspired from Christianity to Hinduism in what has been called näive Art, Art brut, Surrealism and even an historical Monument, which prior to his death (one year after having completed it) received some recognition by people as important as André Breton and Pablo Picasso.
"What else is there to do when one is constantly walking in the same setting apart from dreaming?" ... were his words ..., what I don't think he realised then was that by achieving his dreams against all odds he taught us there are no boundaries for one's creativity and dreaming capability, as well as willingness to achieve whatever we set our minds to, as long as we persevere.
He felt the need to engrave messages in various corners of his work, some of which are timeless ... and others a reminder of the amount of effort it took him to achieve his dream.
Having realised his last desire would not be granted because of him not being allowed to be buried in his palace, he then set his mind to built a mausoleum, where he now lies in "inspirational" peace.
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