Robin Da Silva, a sculptor who stands out in Eure

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More than a profession, Robin Da Silva’s passion comes from adolescence during which the young man looked for a profession that would allow him to work with his hands.

After thinking about boilermaking, ironworker, cabinetmaking, among other things, he followed the advice of his mother, “the best guidance counselor of my life,” he smiles.

“She looked for other manual professions including that of a stonemason”

It clicks.

At the age of 16, the young man headed towards a CAP to discover the profession and then a professional certificate with the Compagnons de France. “There are many stonemasons in France but few sculptors,” he explains. The stonemason builds the building from floor to ceiling and assembles the equipment using clever geometric calculations.

“The sculptor tells stories and works on the modeling to produce a sculpture,” comments the thirty-year-old.

With his diplomas in hand, the young craftsman was hired as a stonemason in the Lefèvre company in Gennevilliers, then at JMB Taille de Pierre in Fresnes-L’Éguillon (Oise). He spent a total of ten years within these companies specializing in historic monuments.

The first orders

His deep passion ends up taking over. Robin Da Silva decides to specialize in sculpture by joining the OMPS school (Ornamentation and sculpture development) in Paris. After this training, he was hired as a team leader by Atelier Tollis, a company of the Aurige group, French leader in the restoration of heritage and historical monuments, an entirely family group, whose mission is to preserve, restore and magnify the architectural heritage.

He stayed there for 7 years.

At the same time, he created his own business in 2017 where he began to receive statuary orders (busts and statues) and ornamentation (in architecture, an ornament is a decorative part used to embellish parts of buildings or interior furniture editor’s note).

Best worker in France

Never short of challenges, Robin Da Silva is immediately entering the competition for the best worker in France in 2022.

He must create a work with an imposed subject:

“Reproduce the sculpted bust of a woman which sits above the main door of the Lavirotte Building in Paris 7th. An Art Nouveau style building designed by the architect Jules Lavirotte in 1900 and listed as a Historic Monument in 1964.

220 hours of work will be necessary to enable him to be a winner of the competition in 2023, by producing a perfect copy.

“I had to request authorization from the City of Paris, as well as from Historic Monuments, to be able to install scaffolding in front of the door in order to make a plaster mold of the facade.”

Visitors who discover his workshop during the European Heritage Days will be able to see this mold hanging on a wall.

The young winner of the competition for the best worker in France in 2023 will be offered by the COETMOF (Organizing Committee for Work Exhibitions and the Competition) to exhibit his work in one of the Museums of the Best Worker in France . A question currently still unanswered due to the logistics linked to the transport of the statue.

He becomes an entrepreneur

Given the overload of work between his job as team leader and his own business and wishing to take off, Robin Da Silva finally leaves Atelier Tollis at the end of 2023 after seven years of good and loyal service to launch himself into the adventure.

He closed his own business and created the company RDS Sculpture by settling in Gisors.

Through his former employer, Atelier Tollis, he was contacted by the Abbatiale Saint-Ouen in Rouen and was quickly approached to restore, among other things, five statues of the Virgin Mary.

By offering his personal analysis and his know-how, the young entrepreneur brings his personal touch to fashion ornaments on behalf of his clients.

The Andelys collegiate church

At 33, the young man made his dream come true by setting up in a small workshop in Gisors. Thanks to his knowledge and reputation, Robin Da Silva lands projects for Historical Monuments.

He also worked on behalf of the Ferme de Vaux manor in Gisors, ornaments for the Andelys collegiate church, and created a fruit basket for Pablo Picasso’s castle in Gisors.

Transmit at 33

His most beautiful memory remains the statue of the Trinity of Saint Mark, 2.45 m high, which he carved in his workshop. “Seeing it installed in the building really marked and touched me.”

He adds:

“Creating a statue provides emotion both for the sculptor and for the person who commissions it. A judgment, good or bad, moves us forward and progresses. »

A sculpture fountain project in Dubai is planned in the coming months. “My requirement to do everything by hand is also my guarantee of quality, because for my part, a manual profession must remain so, otherwise it loses all its meaning. »

As for his future, Robin Da Silva is very clear: “I hope in a few years to be able to hire one or two apprentices and two or three workers in order to share my passion. Too few young people know about this profession and I want to do my best to inspire young people to discover this craft and share my manual know-how to perpetuate the tradition of the profession. »

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