James Bouillé (14 February 1894 – 22 June 1945) was a French architect based in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

Biography

Bouillé was born in

Guingamp Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 6,895 as of 2017, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Guinga ...

(

Côtes-d'Armor The Côtes-d'Armor (, ; ; br, Aodoù-an-Arvor, ), formerly known as Côtes-du-Nord ( br, Aodoù-an-Hanternoz, link=no, ), are a department in the north of Brittany, in northwestern France. In 2019, it had a population of 600,582.

) He studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, until he was mobilized after the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. After the war, he became a member of the Breton nationalist political movement ''

Breiz Atao ''Breiz Atao'' (also ''Breizh Atao'') (in Breton ''Brittany For Ever'' cf. Breizh atav), was a Breton nationalist journal in the mid-twentieth century. It was written in French, and has always been considered as a French nationalist journal by t ...

''. He was one of the founders in 1923 of the artistic movement

Seiz Breur Seiz Breur was an artistic movement founded in 1923 in Brittany. Although it adopted the symbolic name ''seiz breur'', meaning ''seven brothers'' in the Breton language, this did not refer to the number of members, but to the title of a folk-story. ...

, along with

Jeanne Malivel Jeanne Malivel (; 15 April 1895 – 2 September 1926) was a Breton designer and illustrator who inspired the Breton nationalist art movement Seiz Breur. Originally from Loudéac, she revived the art of woodblock printing in her illustratio ...

and

René-Yves Creston René-Yves Creston (25 October 1898 – 30 May 1964), born René Pierre Joseph Creston, was a Breton artist, designer and ethnographer who founded the Breton nationalist art movement Seiz Breur. During World War II he was active in the French Resi ...

. His aim was to revitalise Breton sacred art: crosses, votive objects and traditional crafts. He also designed and supported pottery, ceramics, embroidery and cabinetmaking. Between 1924 and 1935, he was an architect in Perros-Guirec, where he developed a successful practice building holiday villas. In 1929 he joined with

Xavier de Langlais Xavier de Langlais (April 26, 1906 in Sarzeau – June 15, 1975) was a Breton painter, printmaker and writer. He usually signed his work with the name Langleiz, a Breton language version of his surname. Early career Langlais studied art in Nante ...

to found ''An Droellen'', a workshop of Breton Christian art. The duo worked closely together on a number of projects, including the college chapel of St. Joseph in

Lannion Lannion ( ; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of Côtes-d'Armor, the capital of Trégor and the center of an urban area of almost 60,000 inhabitants. Climate Lannion has a ...

. The workshop included among its members Mlle Ménard (glazier), Madame Planiol (restoration of priestly vestments) and

Jules-Charles Le Bozec Jules-Charles Le Bozec (1898–1973) was a French sculptor, whose work reflects a commitment to the local design traditions of his native province of Brittany. Biography Le Bozec was born in Saint-Mayeux, Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany. He was apprent ...

(sculptor). In the late 1930s Bouillé created the Chapel of Koat-Keo in

Scrignac Scrignac (; br, Skrigneg) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Population Inhabitants of Scrignac are called in French ''Scrignaciens''. See also *Communes of the Finistère department *Parc naturel ...

(

Finistère Finistère (, ; br, Penn-ar-Bed ) is a department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.

), built at the initiative of his friend Abbot

Jean-Marie Perrot The abbé Jean-Marie Perrot, in Breton Yann Vari Perrot (3 September 1877 in Plouarzel, Finistère – 12 December 1943 in Scrignac), was a Breton priest, Breton independentist assassinated by the Communist resistance. He was the founder of t ...

, founder of the Breton Catholic youth organization

Bleun-Brug Bleun-Brug (Flower of the heather) is a Catholic association oriented towards Breton nationalism. Origins The group was created in 1905 by abbé Jean-Marie Perrot, with a name devised at the 1905 conference of the Union Régionaliste Bretonne at ...

, which promoted traditional Breton culture. The chapel is seen as a significant attempt to create a distinctive modern Breton sacred architecture, and was listed as a historical monument in 1997. During the World War II, Perrot and Breun-Blug were suspected of

collaborationist Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime, and in the words of historian Gerhard Hirschfeld, "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to t ...

activity. In 1941, Bouillé was made director of Bleun-Brug and sat on the Advisory Committee of Brittany, as its representative. The Committee was seen by resistance activists as part of the collaborationist régime. At this time he advocated a radical plan to build a new Breton capital city to be called "Brittia", which would be a "Celtic Brasilia" on the shores of Lake Guerlédan. Due to his association with Perrot and the committee, he was interned after the

Liberation of France The liberation of France in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers of World War II, Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French R ...

. He died in 1945, as a result of his internment. In Brittany, at least nine streets bear his name.''Les Noms qui ont fait l'histoire de Bretagne'', Coop Breizh et Institut culturel de Bretagne, 1997

Major buildings

*1933: holiday home, known as Kelenn, 18 chemin de Quo-Vadis, subdivision of Tourony-plage at Tégastel *1936-1937: Chapelle de l'Institution Saint-Joseph (in fact Saint-Joseph college) in Lannion *1937: Chapel Koat-Keo at

, created for the Abbot Perrot, with sculptures by Jules-Charles Le Bozec. (This building was designated as a

Monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

in 1997). *1938: Extension to the chapelle de Ploumanac'h, commune de Perros-Guirec 1938 *1939: maison de villégiature (holiday home), known as Avel Dro, 2 rue du Belvédère à Trestrignel, commune de Perros-Guirec.

Publications

* ''Sketla Segobrani. 3 levr moulet e ti'' René Prud'homme.

Saint-Brieuc Saint-Brieuc (, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo: ''Saent-Berioec'') is a city in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. History Saint-Brieuc is named after a Welsh monk Brioc, who Christianised the region in the 6th c ...

, (1923), 3 volumes (with François Vallée,

Meven Mordiern Meven Mordiern, the pen name of René Le Roux (29 October 1878 – 4 February 1949), was a Breton writer of French origin, and a specialist on the ancient Celtic culture. He was the main collaborator of the lexicographer François Vallée, wh ...

, Émile Ernault) * ''Sketla segobrani kenta nevrenn: dis atir, teutatis''. Prud'homme - Saint-Brieuc (1923). * ''Sketla segobrani eil kevrenn: trede levr: lugus''. Prud'homme - Saint-Brieuc (1923). * '. Buhez Breiz - Quimper (1924). Paper delivered at the congress of Bleun Brug at

Lesneven Lesneven (; br, Lesneven) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It lies northeast of Brest, about from the English Channel in the middle of the Leon plateau. History Lesneven has its origins in the immi ...

l12 September 1923. * ''L'art en Bretagne''. Éditions de Buhez Breiz (1924). Paper delivered at the Panceltic Congress,

Quimper Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department. Geography The ...

, 9 September 1924. * ''Sketla segobrani pevare redekevrenn: tanaris, esus''. Prud'homme - Saint-Brieuc (1925). * ''Habitation bretonne''. Massin Ch. et Cie - Paris (1926). The Regional Art of France * ''L'architecture bretonne moderne''. Éditions Romanance - Paris (1936).

References

Bibliography

''Audaces et hésitations d'un militant: James Bouillé'', Pierre Mardaga - Liege. 1986. Catalogue of the exhibition: ''Modernité et régionalisme: Bretagne : 1918 - 1945''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bouille, James 1894 births 1945 deaths People from Guingamp Breton nationalists 20th-century French architects French collaborators with Nazi Germany