Taken for a nut case, Raymond Isidore perhaps created one of the most significant examples of spontaneous architecture. Over a period of several decades, he was to cover his house, furniture, and even objects with “picassiete,” that is to say, pieces of earthenware, glass, and more.
The City of Chartres bought Masion Picassiete in 1981 and, in that way, enriched its patrimony with one of the most significant productions of spontaneous architecture. The process of acquisition resulted in its inclusion on the historical monuments list in November of 1983.
The man who constructed it, whose real name was “Raymond Isidore,” was derisively nicknamed “Picassiette:” one can just imagine the huge amount of debris, consisting of plates, earthenware, and different kinds of glass that he had to gather to finish his project! In 1930, when Raymond Isidore starts building his house, he is not at all thinking about decorating it in any particular manner. During 1935, he is hired by the City of Chartres road repair department; he will then be appointed road sweeper for Saint Chéron Cemetery in 1949, at which job he will remain until his retirement.
He undertakes his artistic endeavor inside the house in 1938, and in certain way, just by chance. Like he said: “I first of all built my house so we would have shelter. After the house was finished, I was walking through the field when I happened to see small pieces of glass, porcelain debris, and broken dishes. I picked all of it up, with no specific intention, only because of their colors and the way they sparkled. I picked out the good stuff and threw away the bad. I piled all of it up in one of the corners of my garden. Then the idea came to me to make a mosaic design with all of it so I could decorate my house. At first, I did not foresee doing anything other than just partial decoration, and just to the walls.”
For almost 25 years, Isidore not only decorates the walls of his house, but also its floors, ceilings, and every object and piece of furniture it contains. He then attacks the exterior walls; then in the courtyards, he builds a chapel and a summerhouse. After buying an adjoining parcel of land, he decorates his garden. Finally, he builds a blue tomb, which he calls “Tomb of the Mind.” He stops his work in 1962. He dies two years later, on September 7, 1964, at the age of 64.
First held in disdain by those who knew him, at times literally taken for a madman, Raymond Isidore did, however, have the satisfaction of seeing his work receive recognition. It was a pleasure for him to have people visit his home. That would be the natural order of things for this man who used to say: “I followed my thoughts the way one follows their path in life.”
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