An exhibition of works by Didier Cros, an artist from the Tarn region, exploring the theme of nature and butterflies in particular – a nod to the term ‘parpaillot’, which was once used ironically to refer to Huguenots. From 26 June to 1 November 2026 at the Museum of Protestantism, the Reformation and Secularism (81260 Fontrieu).
From 26 June to 1 November, the Museum of Protestantism, the Reformation and Secularism will be decked out in the colours of nature with Didier Cros’s exhibition ‘Papillons, parpalhols’.
Born in the Tarn “amidst the trees, near the trout-filled rivers, beneath skies where the clouds are often swept in every direction by the Autan wind”, the artist Didier Cros presents an ethereal project:
“My artistic exploration will be the transposition onto the sheet of paper, and in ‘harmony parallel to nature’, of this little miracle, this ready-made work of art that is the butterfly.” Didier Cros
‘In Old French, whether used ironically or affectionately, a “parpaillot” refers to a Protestant (a Huguenot). In Occitan, it means “butterfly” (la farfalla in Italian).
The word is therefore particularly apt for the Protestants of the Tarn and the whole of the Occitan South.
The nickname ‘parpaillot’ refers to the violence to which the Protestant minority was long subjected. Today, that violence has disappeared and the word has retained a kind of tender, colourful lightness, which evokes nature as well as memory.” Patrick Cabanel, curator of the Museum.
Museum of Protestantism, the Reformation and Secularism, 235 La Ramade hamlet, Ferrière (81260 Fontrieu).
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