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All French heritage classified by regions, departments and cities

  2. Patrimoine
  3. Bretagne
  4. Finistère
  5. 29000 Quimper

  6. Theatre

Theatre à Quimper dans le Finistère

Finistère

Theatre

    4 Boulevard Dupleix
    29000 Quimper
Théâtre
Théâtre
Théâtre
Théâtre
Théâtre
Théâtre
Crédit photo : LPLT - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1900
2000
1893
Legacy of Urbain Couchouren
20 août 1899
Presidential Decree
1902-1904
Construction of theatre
11 et 19 février 1904
Inauguration in two stages
1913
Representation of Sarah Bernhardt
27 août 1997
Registration for historical monuments
1997
Renamed "Max-Jacob"
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Façades and roofs of the theatre; garden surrounding it (cad. BL 306: registration by order of 27 August 1997

Key figures

Urbain Couchouren - Lawyer and donor Place the land under condition in 1893.
Émile Loubet - President of the Republic Signs the decree authorizing theatre in 1899.
Georges Lafont - French architect Designs the building between 1902 and 1904.
Émile Gaucher - Spanish sculptor Realizes the sculptures of the facade in 1903.
Adrien Karbowsky - Parisian decorator Get inside the theater.
Sarah Bernhardt - Famous actress Played in 1913.
Max Jacob - Quimperous writer Inspires the name of the theatre in 1997.

Origin and history

The Max-Jacob Theatre, located in Quimper, Brittany, was built between 1902 and 1904 on a plot originally intended for a hospice, according to the legacy of the lawyer Urbain Couchouren in 1893. The town hall, circumventing this testamentary clause after a presidential decree of 1899, entrusted the project to the French architect Georges Lafont. The sculptures of the facade were made by Émile Gaucher, and the interior decorations by Adrien Karbowsky. The inauguration took place in February 1904, despite criticism of its architectural style.

In 1913, the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt produced in L-Aiglon, marking a highlight of her cultural history. The theatre was renamed "Max-Jacob" in 1997 as a tribute to the Quimperian writer and was listed as a historical monument in the same year. Its architecture, inspired by the casinos and thermal baths of the Belle Époque, reflects the opulence of this period, although modifications (doors, stairs in 1949; ceiling redone in 1957) partially altered its original condition.

Couchouren's controversial legacy inspired Max Jacob's play Le Terrain Bouchaballe, written twenty years after the facts. The theatre also appears in Moshe Mizrahi's film Dear Unknown (1980), showing its roots in local and national culture. Today, it remains a symbol of the Quimperian heritage, mixing legal, artistic and architectural history.

External links

Page Wikipedia
Page Monumentum