Matéo Crémades

Parchment rose maker

©Les Photos d'Heloise

©ADAGP

©Les Photos d'Heloise

The forgotten know-how of parchment sculptures

Matéo is entirely self-taught
He is one of the few artisans specialising in parchment carving
He reimagines ancient traditions in his contemporary sculptures

Musician and musicologist Matéo Crémades discovered a forgotten craft through instrument making. Fascinated by the baroque guitar, and being a player himself, it was while building his own from an old model that he was led to replicate a parchment rosette. This is a fine decorative ornament found on some early instruments. From this first attempt, he has developed his own expertise as a parchment rosette sculptor specialised in the reproduction of historical models. With a scalpel and cutting forms, he meticulously carves the layers of parchment, a very thin goatskin, a material he quickly fell in love with. Today, in addition to working with violin makers from all over Europe, Matéo takes the rosette out of its historical context by introducing it to other artistic worlds, for other artistic applications.

Interview

©Les Photos d'Heloise

©Yannick Perrin

What would you describe as your main skills?: The reappropriation of a know-how. My skills lie here, in the ability to revive an ancient craft, to recreate it by trying to be as close as possible to the historical pieces. As there is no real historical evidence of this know-how – Who exactly was making the rosettes? Was it the luthier? – I had to find my own ways of doing it.
Given this lack of information on the craft, how did you come to understand the making process?: When I observe objects, I like to mentally deconstruct them. I did the same thing with historical rosettes to understand their structure. The first step, drawing the rosette, is often the most complex. Over the years, I have built my own database of rosettes from early musical instruments like harpsichord, lute or baroque guitar, preserved in museums around the world.
How do you approach innovation through this historical know-how?: By using tinted parchment, rarely used at the time, I try to offer a more modern touch to luthiers. But the innovation lies above all in my other, more personal creations, such as my sculptures, inspired not only by the motifs of historical rosettes, but also by my research into ornamentation and my taste for miniatures.
How would you define what you do?: I am both an ornament maker and an artist. The rosette is a simple ornament and has no practical use. It can therefore be considered a small work of art in its own right. On certain musical instruments, it is not even visible. This historical culture of hidden ornaments is very important to me. In each of my sculptures, I try to perpetuate it.

Matéo Crémades is an expert artisan: he began his career in 2014