Pierre Feitu, a renowned sculptor who achieved international recognition in the 1920s and 1930s, has been completely forgotten by his own birthplace of Mûr-de-Bretagne-Guerlédan, near Loudéac in Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany. The talented artist, born on April 16, 1868, created masterpieces across France, the United States, and Mexico, yet remained unknown to the residents of his hometown until recently.

Joël Le Pape, a local resident of Mûr since the 1970s who has a keen interest in art, only discovered Feitu's existence in late 2023. "It's crazy!" he exclaimed in September 2025, expressing his amazement at how such a significant figure could be overlooked. Le Pape's discovery came through an unexpected chain of events when friends from Le Mans, who had spent New Year's Eve at his home, called him after reading a book by Ernest Le Barzic about Mûr-de-Bretagne that he had given them as a gift. "Did you know there was a famous sculptor from Mûr?" they asked, shocking Le Pape who had never heard of the artist despite his decades in the town.

The tragic story of Feitu's forgotten legacy begins with a generous donation that went awry. In 1938, the sculptor's widow donated nearly 40 of his sculptures to the commune with the condition that they create a museum to display them. However, World War II broke out the following year, and the plaster statues were stored and subsequently forgotten for 70 years in the damp cellars of Château Le Cerf. "With the humidity, you can imagine," Le Pape noted about the deteriorating conditions.

The sculptures remained hidden until Sylviane Aymé, president of the Mûr-de-Bretagne drawing workshop, rediscovered them in the early 2000s. Unfortunately, when Le Pape visited in August 2024, half of the collection was missing. While some sculptures were salvaged, others had reportedly been "taken to the dump." The surviving works are now stored in a dry room on the first floor of the château, inaccessible to the public.

When Le Pape began researching Feitu, he was astounded to find "hundreds of press articles" about the sculptor. Pierre Feitu's prolific career spanned three countries, and he created remarkable monuments until his death on December 31, 1936, in Paris. Among his notable works was "Immortality" at Les Invalides in Paris. "When you see the Dance statue in Mexico City, which stands 3 meters high... He had incredible talent!" Le Pape marveled.

Feitu had an ambitious project to build a 30-meter-high lighthouse monument celebrating the sacrifice of Bretons during World War I. Through his research, Le Pape believes the artist intended to erect it in Sainte-Anne-d'Auray. A subscription was launched for the project, but it never came to fruition.

According to Louis Ténars, who wrote the book "The Sculptor Pierre Feitu," the artist had a "faun-like face" and was described as "good-living, a joyful companion, full of verve, mannered and polite. His story is incredible." Feitu came from a prominent Pontivy family and lost his father, who was born in Mûr, when he was seven years old. His mother later sent him to the merchant marine, where he survived a shipwreck in Asia. He married twice, with his second wife being the great-niece of composer Berlioz.

One particularly colorful story illustrates Feitu's perfectionist nature. Le Pape recounts how a certain Mr. Lévêque, presenting himself as a mechanic, came to Feitu's Paris studio wanting a lion-shaped logo – likely for Peugeot. To ensure accuracy, Feitu brought a real lion to his studio as a model. After taking a lunch break, he returned to find the lion had escaped its cage and was roaming freely in his workshop. Fortunately, the lion tamer was nearby to resolve the dangerous situation.

Feitu was buried in Thiais cemetery, but his burial site has been lost to time. "The concession was returned to public domain in 1972. There's no grave marker, nothing left," Le Pape lamented. "For a man who created monuments to the dead... it's tragic."

Le Pape became passionate about preserving Feitu's memory after discovering his work. "Everything fascinates me about his art. When you see the fineness of the features... His bust of aviator Guynemer, which was featured on the cover of L'Image magazine and distributed to soldiers in the trenches," he said, referring to a work preserved in Mûr. "We told ourselves, along with Pierre Feitu's family, that we couldn't leave such a figure in the shadows. He associated with Alexandre Dumas, was received by President Poincaré."

Despite his international success, Feitu remained deeply attached to his birthplace. "Whenever he could return to France, he had to come to Mûr," Le Pape noted. The artist's dedication to his roots makes his hometown's amnesia all the more poignant.

In August 2025, Le Pape installed an illustrated commemorative plaque on the façade of Feitu's birthplace on Place de l'Église. Family members Franck Feitu and Isabelle Bourelly-Feitu, who have gathered numerous documents about their great-uncle and contributed to bringing him out of obscurity, were present at Mûr on Saturday, September 13, 2025, to honor his memory alongside Le Pape.

Le Pape hopes to create, if not a full museum, at least a dedicated room for Feitu and other famous figures connected to Mûr-de-Bretagne. "With lithographs by Corot, Le Barzic's books in display cases... There's also Catherine Danielou from Saint-Guen," he suggested, referring to the commune that merged with Mûr to form the new commune of Guerlédan.

Efforts to commemorate Feitu are gaining momentum. A website has been dedicated to the sculptor, and after correspondence with cultural heritage authorities, Josette Coz, the cultural affairs councilor for Guerlédan municipality, has considered organizing an exhibition of Feitu's works present in Mûr. The commemorative plaque is scheduled to be officially inaugurated in spring 2026, marking a long-overdue recognition of a master sculptor who never forgot his Breton roots, even as his hometown forgot him.