At the end of the 19th century, Gabriel Robuchon (1874-1955), aka Mérovak, invented himself as a “cathedral man”. This eccentric, who disguised himself as a courtier of Louis xiii, lived in the towers of Notre-Dame de Paris and settled in Rouen, Redon, Langres or Mont-Saint-Michel, where he claimed to lead the defense against vandals or indifferents. A mediumistic organist, carillonneur of the reconstructed Vieux-Paris at the 1900 Universal Exhibition, and a fan of Gothic architecture, Mérovak toured France presenting magic lantern lectures. His Gothic propaganda was his work, which he promoted as a man of image and text, between symbolism and heritage, through his sense of publicity and his knowledge of the press and publishing, not far from Huysmans, Rodin or Barrès.
An art historian, Bertrand Tillier is Professor of Contemporary History at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University and a researcher at the Centre d’histoire du xixe siècle, which he co-directs. His work focuses on the history of visual culture, media history and the history of heritage. Latest book: Dérégler l’art moderne, De la caricature au caricatural (Hazan, 2021).
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