Versailles Hall of Mirros Restoration underway
Jul 28th, 2004, 12:35 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 1,265
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Versailles Hall of Mirros Restoration underway
Just heads up for those planning to visit the Chateau de Versailles, 60 percent of the Hall of Mirrors is under scaffolding and will be for some time. Here are the details from the website of the company doing the work:
The 1st of July sees work starting on the restoration of the ceiling of the Hall of Mirrors at the Château de Versailles. Being undertaken thanks to VINCI sponsorship, this is currently the biggest restoration project in France at a site featuring a painted and sculpted décor.
The teams of restorers have taken possession of the platform on the scaffolding providing access to the ceiling which, at its highest point, is 12 m above the ground. The scaffolding will occupy 60% of the total length (73 m) of the room, at the north end during the first phase of the works, i.e. until November 2005, after which it will be moved to extend over a similar distance at the south end until April 2007, the project's scheduled completion date. The central part of the ceiling will be accessible to the restorers for the duration of the project, thus ensuring the continuity of their work.
In the course of this first phase, 600 m2 of paintings by Le Brun, on canvas and on plaster, will be restored, along with 14 sculpted monumental trophies in gilded stucco ornamenting the cornice, and 7 cartouches, their wording from the pens of Boileau and Racine.
The restoration of the decoration of the ceiling has been entrusted to the Restaurateurs Associés group, headed by Mrs Pasquali. The painting team, composed of 35 restorers, recently completed the restoration of the Apollo Gallery at the Louvre. It has also been responsible for restoring other painted decoration by Charles Le Brun, in particular in the Pavilion of Dawn at Sceaux.
Restoration of the sculptures and gilding will be undertaken by the teams of Mrs Pasquali and Mrs De Monte. Composed of 18 restorers and 8 gilders, they have restored the stuccos in the Apollo Gallery at the Louvre and, in Rome, the sculpted decorative work in the Villa Medici and at the Farnese Palace.
Beneath the scaffolding, a passageway, 5 metres wide by 5 metres high, will allow for public access throughout the duration of the works. In line with VINCI's desire that public access be made a priority, displays in and around this passageway will offer visitors an insight into the splendours of the room in the day of Louis XV, while an exhibition, featuring both text and videos, outlines the challenges and scope of this unique restoration campaign.
The restoration of the Hall of Mirrors is the most ambitious cultural sponsorship operation ever to be undertaken in France: VINCI will be entirely responsible for its financing - 12 million euros ? as well as making available the expertise of its specialised companies within the framework of what is also a skills sponsorship project.
The 1st of July sees work starting on the restoration of the ceiling of the Hall of Mirrors at the Château de Versailles. Being undertaken thanks to VINCI sponsorship, this is currently the biggest restoration project in France at a site featuring a painted and sculpted décor.
The teams of restorers have taken possession of the platform on the scaffolding providing access to the ceiling which, at its highest point, is 12 m above the ground. The scaffolding will occupy 60% of the total length (73 m) of the room, at the north end during the first phase of the works, i.e. until November 2005, after which it will be moved to extend over a similar distance at the south end until April 2007, the project's scheduled completion date. The central part of the ceiling will be accessible to the restorers for the duration of the project, thus ensuring the continuity of their work.
In the course of this first phase, 600 m2 of paintings by Le Brun, on canvas and on plaster, will be restored, along with 14 sculpted monumental trophies in gilded stucco ornamenting the cornice, and 7 cartouches, their wording from the pens of Boileau and Racine.
The restoration of the decoration of the ceiling has been entrusted to the Restaurateurs Associés group, headed by Mrs Pasquali. The painting team, composed of 35 restorers, recently completed the restoration of the Apollo Gallery at the Louvre. It has also been responsible for restoring other painted decoration by Charles Le Brun, in particular in the Pavilion of Dawn at Sceaux.
Restoration of the sculptures and gilding will be undertaken by the teams of Mrs Pasquali and Mrs De Monte. Composed of 18 restorers and 8 gilders, they have restored the stuccos in the Apollo Gallery at the Louvre and, in Rome, the sculpted decorative work in the Villa Medici and at the Farnese Palace.
Beneath the scaffolding, a passageway, 5 metres wide by 5 metres high, will allow for public access throughout the duration of the works. In line with VINCI's desire that public access be made a priority, displays in and around this passageway will offer visitors an insight into the splendours of the room in the day of Louis XV, while an exhibition, featuring both text and videos, outlines the challenges and scope of this unique restoration campaign.
The restoration of the Hall of Mirrors is the most ambitious cultural sponsorship operation ever to be undertaken in France: VINCI will be entirely responsible for its financing - 12 million euros ? as well as making available the expertise of its specialised companies within the framework of what is also a skills sponsorship project.
Jul 28th, 2004, 01:12 AM
#2
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,268
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well there's a cautionary lesson for corporations who think sponsorship helps them.
40 years ago, I was proudly taken round the gallery by the mother of a friend. She was working for St Gobain at the time: the company had recently managed the gallery's restoration - the first one necessary, she claimed, since the company had originally installed the mirrors nearly 300 years earlier.
Clearly St Gobain's modern craftsmen don't build to last, unlike their 17th century forbears. Would you buy plate glass from such a shoddy operation?
40 years ago, I was proudly taken round the gallery by the mother of a friend. She was working for St Gobain at the time: the company had recently managed the gallery's restoration - the first one necessary, she claimed, since the company had originally installed the mirrors nearly 300 years earlier.
Clearly St Gobain's modern craftsmen don't build to last, unlike their 17th century forbears. Would you buy plate glass from such a shoddy operation?
Jul 28th, 2004, 01:55 AM
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 1,265
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Flanneruk: i dont think I follow you. You are refering to a company that restored the mirrors 40 years ago yet if you read the article about the current restoration there is not mention of mirrors but of ceiling, sculptures, guilding etc..... How would that be a cautionary tale?
Jul 28th, 2004, 02:03 AM
#4
Join Date: Apr 2003
Posts: 17,268
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Morgan:
You're absoluterly right. The one thing they're not restoring is the mirrors.
So maybe those 1960s craftsmen weren't that bad after all.
St Gobain libel lawyers: I have no resources. Suing me will cost you infinitely more than you'll ever get out of me.
You're absoluterly right. The one thing they're not restoring is the mirrors.
So maybe those 1960s craftsmen weren't that bad after all.
St Gobain libel lawyers: I have no resources. Suing me will cost you infinitely more than you'll ever get out of me.
