{"id":121791,"date":"2025-04-29T11:54:19","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T09:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.levoyageanantes.fr\/oeuvres\/le-bruit-des-bottes\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T17:24:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T16:24:54","slug":"le-bruit-des-bottes","status":"publish","type":"oeuvre","link":"https:\/\/www.levoyageanantes.fr\/en\/artworks\/le-bruit-des-bottes\/","title":{"rendered":"Le Bruit des bottes"},"content":{"rendered":"

In addition to his piece for Lyc\u00e9e Clemenceau, Romain Weintzem has made Le Bruit des bottes<\/em> for the steps of L\u2019Hermitage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Built in the 1930s and later reconstructed after World War II, the Hermitage buildings fan out onto the Loire and the port, optimizing the structure\u2019s space and orientation. For each building, the number of storeys increases as you descend towards the Loire: four to six storeys in the north, and five to six in the south.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between these buildings, staircases and parks set the stage for the rocky outcrops of the Sillon de Bretagne. The steps were carved into the rock.
The five \u201ccourtyards\u201d between the buildings are named after some of Nantes\u2019 privateers: Jean de Crabosse, Julienne David, Commodore Guin\u00e9, Alexis Grassin, and Chevalier Thiercelin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On one of these staircases, with its strangely monumental proportions, Weintzem has placed roughly thirty pairs of combat boots along the steps. A pair of clown shoes leads the procession. Although they\u2019re clearly on the rise, the owners of the boots remain invisible and ghostly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Le Bruit des bottes<\/em> (\u201cthe sound of boots [on the ground]\u201d) is a common expression in French to describe the rise of authoritarianism. This work evokes an escalation of violence, and marching on a warpath, where the group is led by a clown \u2013 a madman who uses his position to discipline the group towards a seemingly vague goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using the burlesque representation of a military parade, Weintzem\u2019s piece alerts us to the fragile state of our democracies and the rise of extremism through this powerful and political work.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<\/div><\/section>\n\t

Born in 1987, Romain Weintzem lives and works in Fontevraud-l\u2019Abbaye (Maine-et-Loire). He is represented by Black Swan Gallery, Bruges.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\t

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