Bruno Godivier, Robert Tatin museum | Tourism portal of the department

Bruno Godivier was only three years old when he first came to the Robert-Tatin museum, which he now runs!

He returned several times in his early years before leaving Laval for Rennes (for studies in Fine Arts) then Paris where he produced sets for cinema, theatres and television, and worked on restorations of works of art in private collections.

“When our first daughter was born, we decided to return to Mayenne, to live in the countryside.

The opportunity arose to work in this extraordinary place, which I had known and appreciated all my life, and I grabbed it with both hands!”

Bruno Godivier

“Learning about this monumental work which today forms the Tatin museum, its conservation, materials and intellectual aspects, requires a great deal of personal investment. It's a lifetime commitment, and the thread must not be broken. I was trained by Lise Tatin in preserving her husband's heritage, and in turn, I will one day have to prepare someone to take over from me."

Bruno loves

conservation
sharing his knowledge
discovery

It was Robert Tatin himself who perfected the techniques for maintaining his “archi-sculpture,” this museum work in the heart of the countryside. When he died in 1983, his wife Lise took over before training Bruno Godivier, who arrived in 1997 and has been director since 2004:

“This monumental work represents the life of a man and an artist, his encounters, his travels, his experiences.

My role is to preserve the spirit of the work and make it more widely known.”

Conservation requires knowledge, which is always being enriched: “We’re constantly discovering, through our restoration work we are up close to the sculptures, but also when leafing through the documents – letters, personal diaries, private archives, oral sources, forgotten interviews and so-on.”

For Bruno and his team, spreading the spirit of the place far and wide is a public service mission. “All our visitors are guided – we help them to understand the works, and can adapt to visitors of all ages and from all backgrounds. We hope to share our knowledge but also to evoke an emotional response to the art. Many visitors leave teary eyed, others linger contemplatively, some come back the next day…

One of the great strengths of the place is its universal message, accessible to everyone.

We welcome visitors from all over the world. Some come to France just to see the museum. We are enormously proud of it. “

Robert Tatin outside the museum walls

“We aim to present works by Robert Tatin outside the museum, and we are working on this with the Department of Mayenne. Tatin is recognized as a sculptor, but he is first and foremost a painter and a ceramicist. He was active for 40 years.

Several thousand paintings, drawings, ceramics are scattered all over the world. A major retrospective, in Paris for example, would give us access to works of which we sometimes have photos of.

Bringing them together, which has never been done before, would be the opportunity to show the work of Robert Tatin to new audiences.”

Musee Robert Tatin - Allee des geants - Andre Breton

Musee Robert Tatin - Maison de Robert Tatin

Musee Robert Tatin - La Porte des Meditations

Where to find

Bruno

Bruno's favourite place in

Mayenne

“I really like the village of Saint-Sulpice, with its hiking trails along the banks of the Mayenne, the château and its gardens, the maze, the village… It’s a place waiting to be discovered.”

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