What remains of their finery ? Marble gone, chimneys ripped open, curtains torn away… In front of Romain Thiery’s lens, these great houses have lost their superb appearance. However, lurking in the shadows, astonishing monsters of wood and cast iron with lacquered skins display their toothless smiles with ivory reflections. The only witnesses of the past lustre, these pianos are the soul of the place, objects too heavy to be moved, that the photographer relentlessly tracks down “even in the middle of a degraded space, the piano never ceases to preserve its power. It is there, enthroned in all its nobility. The creation of this series owes nothing to chance. It offers Romain Thiery the privilege of combining his two passions, image and music.