The Bernardin family, iron workers by trade, produced some major iron works at Clermont-Ferrand and in Auvergne, many of which are protected as Historic Monuments.
The ironworker Jean-Baptiste Bernardin (1856-1951), known as Bernardin the elder, was the designer of the décor for his workshop house listed on the historic monuments registry since 1981. The house was built in 1890 for sculptor Jean-Baptiste Gourgouillon then acquired by the Bernardin family. The Art Nouveau style ironwork on the balconies, bays and the sign show the artist’s skill, with the remarkable work on the leaves, flowers, vine branches and whiplash lines. Bernardin the elder received many accolades and became member of the jury of the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France competition (a prestigious craftsmen award). He was the designer in Clermont-Ferrand of the doors of the Prefecture, the Bargoin Museum and the ironwork on the former Caisse d’Épargne bank building, now the administrative court, in Cours Sablon. Jean-Baptiste Bernardin is buried in the Carmes cemetery.
Jean-Baptiste was the first in a notable line of artistic ironworkers. Auguste (1880-1962) had another workshop, listed on the historic monuments registry in 2006, at 53 Avenue Pasteur in Clermont-Ferrand, with a spectacular Art Nouveau gate. Georges (1894-1974) received the Meilleur Ouvrier de France award in 1962 and the same year received the gold medal at the Salon des Artistes Français. He is responsible in particular for the iron railings on the Saint-Éloy post office, on the humanities university building on Avenue Carnot and on the former Sabourin sanatorium, now Clermont-Ferrrand’s École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture. Georges Bernardin’s workshop was located successively at 24 Rue Eugène-Gilbert, then at this location, and on Rue Bonnabaud, not far away.
