Lucien Gires, living memory of Saugues and artist of the Gévaudan

Gorges du Haut-Allier
Sep 1, 2025
4 min read

It is impossible to walk through the streets of Saugues, in Haute-Loire, without encountering the artistic imprint left by Lucien Gires, affectionately nicknamed “Lulu.” A self-taught painter, sculptor, and decorator, he is today recognized as one of the most fervent ambassadors of rural art and the heritage of the Gévaudan. Born in 1937 and passing away in 2002, this artist from Saugues devoted his life to glorifying the landscapes, the trades of yesteryear, and the faces of his native region.

A deeply rooted vocation

Coming from a modest family, Lucien Gires was the youngest of three children (Joseph, Louis, and finally Lucien). His father was a clog maker, and his mother, Zélina, descended from a family of stonecutters. From a very young age, he was introduced by his grandfather to the techniques of stone, wood, and drawing. Yet he never had any formal artistic training. Everything he learned, he learned through passion, observation, and practice. His path was that of a craftsman of exceptional talent who became an artist out of love for gesture and for local memory.

His style is marked by raw sincerity, ethnographic attention to detail, and profound humanity. He saw himself more as a witness than as an artist, always eager to transmit the gestures, faces, and traditions of his land. Lucien Gires never left Saugues. He deeply loved his village, its traditions, and its people.

Oeuvre de Lucien Gires à la Tour des Anglais

A career marked by masterful creations

From the very beginning, “Lulu” designed posters for village festivals and dances. His first major project was the Diorama of Saint Joseph in Espaly, where he learned screen printing before his military service. Upon his return, the town hall of Saugues made available to him the “Tour des Anglais” an emblematic building of the town, which he restored himself before making it his workshop. There, he created two monumental canvases measuring 9 × 6 meters, depicting forestry work, field labor, and rural life in the Gévaudan. Since the 1970s, this space has welcomed visitors to discover his monumental work.

The Diorama of Saint Bénilde was Lucien Gires’s first major achievement. Created in 1962, it was installed in the former school on Rue du Prieuré, the very place where Brother Bénilde once taught. This unique installation is composed of thirteen animated scenes, presented in sequences and accompanied by a sound and light show. It depicts not only the life of Brother Bénilde, a symbolic figure of the town and patron saint of accordionists, but also scenes of daily life in 19th-century Saugues. Open free to the public, this diorama reflects the artist’s deep attachment to his land and roots. His mother, Zélina Gires, gave him precious help with this project by making the costumes for the characters and creating visual materials such as posters.

Among the many works Lucien Gires left in Saugues, the frescoes in the Church of Saint Médard hold a very special place. Painted on jute canvas, these monumental works fit perfectly into the architecture of the church. The use of this humble yet warm material reflects the artist’s approach: modest, close to the people, and deeply rooted in his region. Today, these frescoes are a key element of Saugues’s religious heritage.

Fresque - La viie de Saint Bénilde — The Life of Saint Bénilde

His final project, and undoubtedly his most ambitious, remains the Fantastic Museum of the Beast of Gévaudan. Begun in 1989 with the precious help of his daughter Blandine, it took several years of effort before coming to fruition. Opened to the public in 1999, the museum stages the famous legend that terrorized the region between 1764 and 1767, through an immersive tour composed of 22 striking scenes.

A legacy engraved in memory and place

Throughout his life, Lucien Gires also illustrated numerous books for children and adults devoted to Gévaudan, and his talents as a sculptor led him to create many steles and religious sculptures in Vazeilles, La Vachellerie (a stele of the Resistance made of reconstituted stone), the church of Beaumont, Le Puy-en-Velay and Langeac. His creations also adorn prestigious institutions, such as the Grand Palais in Paris, where he exhibited his paintings, notably as part of the Salon des Indépendants, and the Ecole des Arts et Métiers in Lyon, which houses one of his monumental hammered copper Christs measuring over 2 meters.

In 1997, he was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters. Since his death in 2002, Saugues has continued to pay tribute to him. The road to Le Puy now bears his name, and every year a painting competition (the Lucien Gires Prize) is organized in his honor. On this occasion, amateur and professional artists take to the streets of the town to represent, in their own way, the heritage and life of the city.