Gipiers et/ou maîtres sculpteurs ? Les auteurs des décors de gypserie à Marseille et à Aix au xviie siècle

The use of plaster in Provençal buildings is significant and long-standing, and the taste for gypseries (plasterwork) led to the specialization of the gipier (plaster worker) profession in the late Middle Ages, similar to that of the stucco maker in Italy. This profession, attached to the guild of masons, brought together all craftsmen using plaster for both construction and decoration. Although gipiers became established on decorative building sites in the early seventeenth century, they soon faced competition from stone and wood sculptors. The aim of this study is to examine the changing status of these decorators in Provence, and the reasons why, at the end of the century, they broke away from the building guilds to join the guilds of painters and sculptors. A sign of the recognition of the superiority of the sculptor’s status, seen as a creator of form, compared to the gipier, who was seen as a craftsman with essentially technical knowledge, this transition may also reflect a re-evaluation of the perception of the decorative arts.