Gaston Durville (1887-1971) was a French physician who, with his brother, André Durville, was one of the initiators of naturism in France during the interwar period.

Biography

In 1911 he graduated from

Montpellier University The University of Montpellier (french: Université de Montpellier) is a public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest universities in the wor ...

as a physician, his thesis was entitled in french: Étude étiologique de l’hypnose, lit=A Study of the Etiology of Hypnosis. With his brother, André Durville he established the Naturist Society in 1927. In 1928 the brothers founded the Physiopolis naturist camp on Platais island in the Seine from the centre of Paris. In 1930 they established the naturist village of Heliopolis on the

Île du Levant Île du Levant (), sometimes referred to as Le Levant, is a French island in the Mediterranean off the coast of the Riviera, near Toulon. It is one of the four that constitute the Îles d'Hyères. Part of the island is occupied by the naturi ...

, an island in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

. During his medical training, he worked for a time at the hospice at Brévannes under the tutelage of Dr

Paul Carton Paul Joseph Edmond Carton (12 March 1875 – 20 October 1947) was a French physician, naturopath and practitioner of vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insect ...

, where he gained his knowledge of natural treatments. Gaston Durville joined the Vegetarian Society of France, and became well known for his vegetarian/naturist ideas. At the same time many vegetarians and naturopaths showed hostility to foreign breakfasts. The doctors Gaston and André Durville blamed the English breakfast consisting of bacon and eggs for being too high in protein: “The English breakfast with ham, bacon and eggs is nonsense even for a cold and wet country such as England and to a greater extent for France” After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he published a voluminous treatise on naturist healing, ''La Cure naturiste'' followed by a series of 13 booklets on the naturist therapy and "psycho medicine". In 1923, together with his brother André, he launched the magazine ''La Vie Sage'', monthly review of naturism and psychic education - which took the title ''Naturisme'' in 1930. The two brothers then engaged in a long cooperation with the publication of books on therapeutic methods related to naturism. In the early 1920s they founded an institute for natural medicine in Cimarosa Street in the 16th arrondissement of Paris - which a few years later was renamed the Naturist Institute. Durville's brother, Henri, besides his publishing activities, had partnered with a former disciple of Dr

, Dr. Viard, to found a psycho-naturist Medicine Institute in Neuilly-sur-Seine. The combined influence of Carton's natural medicine and the "psychological medicine" of Hector and Henri Durville led the brothers, Gaston and André, to develop a "psycho-naturism" therapeutic method based on the combined use of physical agents, diet, massage, physical exercise, air baths, water and light, psychic agents, magnetism, hypnosis, mental suggestion and psychotherapy. The brothers became convinced that the practice of medicine in specialized institutions was not sufficient ensure good health, and so they began to find news was to popularize the benefits of naturism. analysed the different ways how nudity became associated with a back-to-nature attitude and the ensued practices. At the end of the 19th century, naturist doctors advised nudity for the hygienic and therapeutic benefits from the air and sun exposure. Nevertheless, modesty codes had the effect of dissuading the French naturists from complete and collective nudity. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, some naturist activists began working on democratizing the air and sun treatment. Gradually, they created a leisure naturism; the term will be associated with an outdoor activity, practiced nude. The practise of nudism remained partial for some of naturists, others advocated a complete naturism that led to nudism.

Family

Gaston Durville was the son of the

occultist The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

, magnetist and hypnotist, Hector Durville, brother to André Durville and Henri Durville, André was also a doctor, Henri was a publisher. Gaston Durville had one son, Jacques born in 1918, also a physician.

Works

*''Les Maladies sexuelles'', Paris, edited by Henri Durville, 1921. *''Les Maladies de la circulation'', Paris, edited by Henri Durville, 1921. *''La Cure naturiste'', Paris, edited by Henri Durville, 1921. *''L’Art de vivre longtemps''. *''La Cuisine saine'', with André Durville. *''L’Art d'être heureux'', with André Durville. *''La Cure mental''e, with André Durville. *''La Cure végétale'', with André Durville.

References

Notes

Citations

Sources

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External links

Mémoire de Villennes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Durville, Gaston 1887 births 1971 deaths 20th-century French physicians French naturists French vegetarianism activists Naturopaths Social nudity advocates