Espace culturel Joseph Foret

Permanent exhibition devoted to the Book of Revelation.
Joseph Foret was born in Le Mont-Dore in 1901. An arts publisher, from 1958 to 1961 he designed and produced a monumental work : The Book of Revelation according to Saint John, which in 1960 was the heaviest (210 kg) and most expensive(…)

Permanent exhibition devoted to the Book of Revelation.
Joseph Foret was born in Le Mont-Dore in 1901. An arts publisher, from 1958 to 1961 he designed and produced a monumental work : The Book of Revelation according to Saint John, which in 1960 was the heaviest (210 kg) and most expensive book in the world (2 million francs).

The book took 3 years to complete, in a single copy.
It consists of :
– a bronze cover, inlaid with precious stones and designed by Salvador Dali.
– 150 parchments selected from 300,000 sheepskins.
– 2,000 hours of calligraphy and 550 gold letters.
– parchments illustrated by 7 great painters : Salvador Dali, Bernard Buffet, Léonor Fini, Foujita, Trémois, Mathieu, Zadkine.
– meditations by 7 famous writers : Cocteau, Rostand, Giono, Rops, Guitton, Cioran, Jünger.

This book was exhibited by Joseph Foret around the world, before being sold to a private collection.

Two facsimiles of this gigantic jewel have been produced. One is on deposit at the Bibliothèque Nationale. The other was donated by Joseph Foret to his beloved native Mont-Dore.