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Heritage classified

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Origin and history

The house of Auguste Gaudard, located in Morbier in the Jura, is a representative example of an industrial villa built between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is part of a set including a factory, reflecting a major economic activity in the region. Its architecture, although typical of the villas of the period, is distinguished by an exceptional interior decor, combining Renaissance motifs and imitations of 18th century marquetries, made in trompe-l'oeil.

The building owes its originality to the collaboration of two local artisans: the painter Germain Paget and the master plasterer Jacques Ricardon, the latter being particularly renowned for his trompe-l'oeil paintings. These sets, inspired by earlier artistic periods, transform an industrial construction into a testimony of the eclectic taste of the industrial Auguste Gaudard. The house, fully protected since 2014, thus embodies both the industrial and artistic heritage of Burgundy-Franche-Comté.

Classified as a Historical Monument by order of 27 November 2014, Auguste Gaudard's house retains a dual heritage value: it illustrates the industrial history of Morbier and Morez, while offering a remarkable example of the integration of decorative arts into the bourgeois habitat of the time. Its address, 140 White Road, and its state of conservation make it a place of interest for studying Jurassian industrial villas.

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