Born in Provence in 1970, Aurélien Raynaud grew up in a world where art, architecture and decoration held an essential place. Unsuited to the classical educational mold, he left school at the age of 14 and, encouraged by his father, studied architecture, and drawing with a teacher who graduated from the Ecole Boulle. But it is through painting and then sculpture that he will approach his favorite subject: animals, in contact with which he grew up and developed a very strong bond that helps him to live.

To evoke the infinite richness of this universe, the animal sculptor explores techniques and materials, working with wood, bronze, marble or even wire mesh. Fervent defender of the animal cause, the artist pays tribute to nature through his works. His octopus dressed in wire mesh, his eagle in steel and his manta ray in wood have thus come to populate the castle of Charleval.