House called the Fisherman, then the Bagnard house

Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The "House of Bagnard", originally called the house of the Fisherman, is a modest and original building located at the Anse Cafard, at the foot of Morne Larcher, on the town of Diamant in Martinique. Built in the years 1967 with recovery materials (local fruit trees, plates), it is distinguished by its absence of foundations, its small dimensions (2.42 m wide by 4.90 m long) and its carved decoration in wood and metal, painted in bright colours. Its architecture reflects both material precariousness and rare artistic creativity, far from the traditional Martinic squares.

The work is attributed to Médard Aribot (1901–73), son of a Martinicaise and a Congolese artist marginal to the tumultuous past. Sentenced in 1933 for having carved a bust of Colonel de Coppens — a symbol of the bloody electoral riots of 1925 known as the "War of Diamond" — he was relegated to Guyana until the closure of the bay in 1945. Back in Martinique in 1953, he lived alone, sculpting objects inspired by his environment (paquebots, pianos, characters) before building this house around 1967, reusing materials from a previous home in Sainte-Luce.

The house, classified as a Historic Monument in 2009, embodies a popular place of memory, linked to both the history of the country and Creole art. After years of vandalism, it received restorations in 1987 (the date of its renaming as a "house of the Bagnard"), 1996 (funded by the EU, the DAC and the NFB) and 2017. Its site offers a remarkable view of Diamant Bay, reinforcing its emblematic character. Médard Aribot lived there until his death, leaving behind some scattered works, including an African bust and clay plates.

The building, owned by the National Forest Office, also illustrates the social tensions of the 20th century Martinique, between marginality, colonial repression and cultural resistance. Its history in conjunction with that of the 1925 riots and the French penal system makes it a unique testimony, both architectural and historical. The house, though fragile, remains a symbol of creativity born of adversity, anchored in the landscape of Martinique.

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