Willette is an artist from Montmartre, somewhat anarchist and above all revolted against the hypocrisy of the well-thinking. It was this man who initiated the artists’ mass with his prayer composed on June 28, 1914, on the tomb of Auguste Villiers de l’Isle-Adam.
On that same day, the heir to the Habsburg Empire fell to the bullets of a terrorist, thereby igniting Europe. This prayer was premonitory, a salute of the gladiators: ‘Ave Domine, morituri te salutant.’
This mass was organized for the first time on February 17, 1926, thirteen days after the death of ‘Pierrot’, the nickname of Willette, at Saint Germain l’Auxerrois in Paris.
Artists come here to pray for those who will die in the year. It is therefore not a tribute to those who have passed away, but a prayer to God dedicated to the artists who will pass away in the year.
This year, the theme of this fourth edition could be a subject for philosophy students: “On Earth as in Heaven.” Many artists exhibit in the church of Saint Pierre d’Arène in Nice. All forms of artistic expression are represented, painting, sculpture, photography, for the pleasure of the eyes, for the beauty of colors, for the purity or, conversely, the brutality of lines.
Human beings have five senses, and hearing also needed to be satisfied, so lyrical art and music were also represented. We will only mention a tiny part of the exhibited works, and to avoid offending anyone, we will not name the artists. A great speaker always said: “I thank you all,” without naming anyone, thus avoiding hurting sensibilities.
The first work that stands out to the visitor is a sculpture, is it Zeus, a God, or the Godman? As if to bring harmony to the exhibition, in the choir is found a text “Corps à corps,” the man made God or God made man. The wooden ladder or Jacob’s ladder. The wrinkled mirror symbolizing vanities.
The Coca-Cola Cross, pop art.
The heart of red bolts, the ardor of love. The mobile and this man suspended in the void, an escaped or suspended soul. A tribute to dance with the plasticity of bodies. The Golden Calf in its display case. Poetry, a nod between Gainsbourg and Prévert. Man, a tiny point in the universe, the central point of which he is both the center and the periphery, Galileo and Copernicus!
The Godman welcomed us at the entrance of the church, sitting on the cathedra, and in the choir, we find Orpheus. There is a sort of homage to Cocteau, the poems, some paintings, photos, evoke this man, this artist who decorated chapels and remained, even after his death, the enfant terrible of the 20th century.
During the mass, the monsignor decorated an artist, a photographer, a man who embodies in himself the cultural memory of Nice, for his 40 years of collaboration with the artists’ chaplaincy.
This character, always ready with a witty remark, Frédéric Altmann, received the diocesan medal. Willette would be satisfied, his mass is enduring, lasting as long as this exhibition. Willette’s mass is a very beautiful entry into Lent, a moment that will not be forgotten and will leave the mark of this artist on all the people present at this service. The church was full, far too small for the crowd that communed in the prayer of this artist decorator of the Chat Noir.
Thierry Jan
