Designated best worker in France (MOF) in 2015, plasterer Florent Boissarie is one of the 34 trades involved in the restoration of the birthplace of Pierre Loti, the author of “Pêcheur d'Islande” and “Ramuntcho”.
A century after the death of the travel writer, this insane project is currently continuing in Rochefort (Charente-Maritime) and should be completed in December 2024.
Himself based in this city of art and history, Florent Boissarie restores and recreates the incredible plaster decorations selected in his time by Pierre Loti.
His main challenge?
Bringing back to life eight stained glass windows installed in the mosque, a piece imagined by the academician using 16th century decorations from an Umayyad mosque in Damascus, Syria.
These stained glass windows do not have a lead frame.
They are in reality sculpted and chiseled in plaster using a technique common in the Maghreb and the Arab world, chemmassiat.
A 13 million euro project
The reverse is then covered with colored glass to create pieces of incomparable beauty.
“Pierre Loti brought Moroccan artisans to come and work to create these stained glass windows and was inspired by the Alhambra located in Granada, in Andalusia,” summarizes Florent Boissarie.
Familiar with prestigious restoration projects, this forty-year-old and founder of La Gyspserie had never before produced such works.
“So I went to train in chiseling in Casablanca, Morocco and I fell in love with this technique, we can do exceptional things,” he explains.
Chemmassiat calls for patience, underlines Florent Boissarie who had to equip himself with scissors that cannot be found in France to work with 35 mm thick plasterboards.
“It’s a huge job.
One sign calls for six weeks of work.
The chiseling is done at an angle to capture as much sunlight as possible,” specifies this MOF who must make two of them with his own hands, in their entirety.
The other six – originals in good condition – will simply be restored or cleaned.
“This project takes us out of our comfort zone.
It's a chance, we learn something every day.
And yet, I have been doing this job for 32 years,” assures the plasterer who still remembers his first visit to the Loti house: “I was 14!
» The town of Rochefort hopes to reopen this building to the public in spring 2025. The cost of the project – now estimated at 13 million euros, excluding taxes – also includes the restoration of Pierre Loti's objects and collections.
The places, estimates the Rochefort municipality, could welcome up to 350,000 visitors per year.