GYPSUM PLASTER

GYPSUM

In geological terms, gypsum is a hydrous calcium sulfate, an evaporite mineral; its chemical formula is CaSO4 2H2O. Gypsum deposits tell the history of the Paris sedimentary basin, which has shaped the region's landscape. The gypsum quarry on the slopes of Cormeilles, roughly 10 kilometres north-west of Paris, had been a landmark for a century, but is currently being reclaimed, as mining continues underground.

• Le gypse de Cormeilles-en-Parisis (in French)
• Purest Gypsum (in English)
• The Cormeilles Quarry Since 2007. The final years of open-cast mining (in English)

FROM GYPSUM TO PLASTER PRODUCTS

After quarrying, the gypsum is crushed and fed to kilns. The gypsum is dehydrated by heating to about 130°C, to drive off the chemically combined water, and then ground to a fine powder, like plaster of Paris.

Gypsum plaster, in powder form, is ready to use by adding water. Its multiple uses include applications in building construction, decoration, casting and molding, agriculture, and water treatment. Industrial plasters and building plasters may include chemical additives, and are used to produce gypsum board, gypsum blocks and rendering materials.

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION, DECORATION, AND ARCHITECTURAL ORNAMENTS

Plasterers' skills, techniques and tools were traditionally handed down from one generation to another. While gypsum board (drywall) was introduced in the United States in the late 19th century and gained in popularity through the first half of the 20th century, French building construction, with lath and plaster walls and ceilings, remained largely unchanged until 1960. The introduction of plasters with longer working times, prefabrication, and mechanical (projection) plastering have changed how plaster is used in construction.

SCULPTURE

Sculptors have used gypsum plaster since ancient times; one of the most traditional casting techniques involves plaster molds that are broken after the casting hardens (the waste mold method). Plaster can also be sculpted directly by carving or modeling, or used with other media.

• Le décor de stuc dans l'art islamique (VIIIe-XXe siècle) - in French
• Le cheval blanc de François Ier (1540-1543) - in French
• Somptuosités baroques en Allemagne du Sud (XVIIIe siècle) - in French
• Historical plaster casts from the Louvre collection in Versailles

THE SURREALIST SCULPTOR GEORGES BOULOGNE

- Le sculpteur Boulogne (1926-1992) (in French)
- La double image de Boulogne (1953-1964) (in French)
- La Main 3 Yeux (1953) (in French)
- Rainier de Monaco (1955-1958) (in French)
- Le portrait sculpté de Jean Rostand (1958)
- Une oeuvre du sculpteur Boulogne à Saint-Nazaire : "Le Christ guérissant un malade" (1959-1960) (in French)
- Quand Dali posait pour le sculpteur Boulogne (1961-1963) (in French)
- Les origines guadeloupéennes du sculpteur Boulogne (1650-1960) (in French)

- La famille Dupré de Petit-Bourg (Guadeloupe) (in French)

 GYPSUM PLASTER IN HISTORY

Plaster has been a known material since ancient times around the Mediterranean Basin. Its use has been documented in France since the Gallo-Roman period, particularly in the Paris region and precisely in Cormeilles-en-Parisis.

- Arts et techniques pour fabriquer du plâtre (Vincent Farion in Une Antiquité moderne, 2019) - in French

- Le plâtre changé en or, l'or changé en plâtre. Les mots et les images, symboles de richesse et de blancheur (Vincent Farion in L'or blanc : de la métaphore des sens à la réalité environnementale et économique, 2020) - in French

- Pierre Chazet, maçon du Limousin à l’île-de-France (XIXe siècle) - in French

GYPSUM IN FRANCE

The Paris basin accounts for over 60% of gypsum deposits in France, and many locations—including Montmartre in Paris—continue to show traces of what was once a major industry.

There are also vestiges of gypsum activity in other regions of France—including Provence, the Pyrenees, Burgundy, the foothills of the Alps.

- Des fours à plâtre dans Paris (1765-1800) (in French)

- Les ports au plâtre. Le commerce du plâtre sur la Seine et l'Oise au XIXe siècle (in French)
- La grève des plâtrières en 1909 (in French)

- Placoplatre et autres histoires industrielles - en vente au musée (in French)

- Introduction : Placoplatre et autres histoires industrielles (in French)

- Les plâtrières du Val-d'Oise à travers les siècles  (Daniel Baduel) - Préface de Vincent Farion (in French)

- Les carrières à Taverny (Michel Dessanne et Lionel Urbain) - Préface de Vincent Farion (in French)

- La plâtrière d'Armoy (Haute-Savoie) (in French)

- La Renarde - Webfeuilleton. (in French)
A family investigation in 12 episodes, a journey into memory and territory. The story unfolds from the 19th century to the present day between Seine-et-Marne, Paris, Germany, and the Swiss Jura. The Plaster Museum is a partner in this series with contributions from Vincent Farion and Jacques Hantraye, providing historical insights into the history of plaster in Seine-et-Marne.

A l'ouest de la butte de Cormeilles-en-Parisis : les carrières souterraines de Montigny - La tuilerie de Cormeilles - La butte de la Tuile ou les carrières à plâtre de Montigny et d'Herblay  (in French) 

Learn more (in French):

Les Articles du Musée du Plâtre (published by the Museum, download):

HISTORY OF THE CARRIÈRE LAMBERT

Founded nearly 200 years ago by the Lambert family, the open-cast quarry at Cormeilles-en-Parisis became a major site for the plaster and materials industry in the 20th century.

- La grève des plâtrières en 1909 (in French)

- L'effort de guerre des usines Lambert en 1914-1918 (in French)
- Lambert dans les années 1920 (in French)

- 1924, quand la carrière et l'usine Lambert ouvraient leurs portes (in French)
- Carrière de Cormeilles, historique de la mécanisation (XXe siècle) (in French)

- Si la carrière m'était contée - en vente au musée (in French)

- Placoplatre et autres histoires industrielles - en vente au musée (in French)

- Introduction : Placoplatre et autres histoires industrielles (in French)

- Les visiteurs de la carrière. 100 ans sur le terrain à Cormeilles-en-Parisis - en vente au musée (in French)