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FACTEUR CHEVAL and LE PALAIS IDÉAL
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Joseph-Ferdinand Cheval, known as Facteur Cheval, was a French postal worker who created Le Palais Idéal in Hauterives, France. It is regarded as an extraordinary example of naïve art architecture. Cheval began building his vision in 1879 when he was 43 and continued for the next 33 years. He would pick up stones during his daily mail rounds and carry them home to build his palace. At first he carried the stones in his pockets, then switched to a basket, eventually he used a wheelbarrow. He often worked at night, by the light of an oil lamp. The completed work is 85 feet long, with an approximate height of 35 feet. Inscribed on the façade is written, “Travail d’un Seul Homme”, (The Work of One Man). Facteur Cheval was a great inspiration to David Beck and in a nod of appreciation adopted the postal worker’s phrase on the façade of L’Opéra. Beck’s portrait of Le Facteur was painted in (date).