Almost everyone knows that Toulouse-Lautrec is Albigensian. On the other hand, who knows that Lapérouse is also from Albi? In any case, the city is launching a vast program around the figure of the thinker and explorer Jean François de Galaup count of La Perouse. The naval officer and a French explorer, born in 1741 in the Tarn, has traveled off Brazil, Chile, Alaska, California, China, Russia, Australia. A humanist who has done a lot for cartography and who died in Vanikoro (Solomon Islands) during a shipwreck in the Pacific in 1788.
A statue and tomorrow a museum
To bring this figure to life, a large Lapérouse museum should be created in the years to come. It will be the most important cultural project in the years to come for the city of Albi. In the meantime, the city is renovating the statue which sits on the place Lapérouse very close to the court, a stone’s throw from the historic center.
Jean Bernard Mémet is a curator and restorer of cultural goods and a specialist in metalwork. He founded the company A-Corros. It was he who was chosen to restore the statue and it is no accident. He is closely linked to Jean-François de Lapérouse. “I caught the Lapérouse virus a few years ago because I had the extraordinary chance to participate in research and excavations in the South Pacific. During two expeditions in 2003 and 2005, we removed objects from the wrecks, and reconstructed a little the scenario of the sinking. On that occasion, I took the pulse of who this man was, of what he had done. He was a humanist and he inspires me. So much so that there, today, the owners of the Manoir du Gô have done me the immense honor of staying during the restoration operation, of accommodating the entire Scottish team. In addition to touching these objects, I have the chance to sleep in his room. It is an unforgettable experience and moments, of course.“
– SM
Anchors and cannons from the boats of Lapérouse
In any case, the statue needed to be taken care of, says restorer Jean Bernard Mémet. “Monsieur de Lapérouse is elegant. Of course. But we had doubts about the base, which was cracked, in particular about its stability, which had to be reworked.” And then it was also necessary protect the four anchors and the two cannons that surround the statue and who was in the boats at Lapérouse, it was urgent. “They have been corroded by Pacific seawater. They have never been treated. An anchor that has come out of the sea should normally be desalinated. If we do not desalinate it, the salt will act on it. time to produce hydrochloric acid and spoil the metal. “ The anchors and guns have therefore undergone a treatment that will prevent them from deteriorating for a few years.
The town hall invested 60,000 euros for this statue details the mayor Stéphanie Guiraud -Chaumeil. “It is our responsibility to maintain his memory. So that people do not forget that this great man, Mr de Lapérouse was an Albigensian. “A renovation project which cost around 60,000 euros.
– SM
A film “Beyond a shipwreck”
The Grand Théâtre des Cordeliers, the city of Albi is offering the screening of Yves Bourgeois’ film “Beyond a Shipwreck” this Sunday, April 14. A screening in the presence of the director of the National Maritime Museum and the director. A way for Albi to enhance the heritage of Lapérouse, emphasizing the modernity and topicality of the themes and human values carried by his expedition-discovery in the Pacific at the end of the 18th century. A free evening is open to all Albigensians by reservation: [email protected].