Reconstitution of a scenery
Church of Saint-Louis d'Antin, Paris
Saint-Louis d'Antin is a Parisian church especially noteworthy for the richness of its decor and murals. It was completely restored in 2003.
1. The choir and the half-dome after restoration.
2. The 4th bay of the aisle after restoration.
Cecile Charpentier was part of the team of curators who led this restoration project and she, accompanied by Andrea Blendea, was particularly engaged in restoring the decoration of the arches. Together they recreated friezes using stencils as well as faux marble.
Artists had used a variety of methods in the nineteenth century to create these paintings: oil and wax paint on plaster, stucco, and canvases. It was necessary to take into account the large amount of painted surfaces and the wide variety of techniques in order to clean the decor and pull it all together. Much work was needed on the particularly damaged parts in order to achieve uniformity. The Church was divided into 7 areas of intervention, each assigned to a team of curators.
Aisle Decors
1. View the aisle's 4th bay after restoration.
2. Detail of an arch before restoration.
Wall of the southwest corner of the 4th bay.
1. Paint flaking before restoration.
2. During restoration of the paint layer.
1. Detail of the frieze decorating the arch of the bay: overpainting on the flower and traces of old stencils.
2. Decor restoration using stencils.
1 and 2. Detail of a spandrel: painting background colors and use of stencils to rebuild the decor.
3. Painting the background color over the putty.
Cecile Charpentier restoring sheaves of lilies and a Greek frieze on the underside of an arch.
Area of the Chapel of the Virgin
Faux marble and stucco
The chapel of the Virgin had been covered with stucco, composed of lime plaster mixed with marble dust. Cracks, old repainted areas and sealants, coatings and varnishes, covered the original, as well as deeply embedded dirt, requiring serious cleaning. Cecile Charpentier proceeded to remove the old varnish and overpainting. She then reattached, consolidated and cemented the damaged parts prior to reconstituting the missing parts of the stucco; then she a burnished the whole.
1. Chapel of the Virgin during the pictorial reintegration.
2. Cecile Charpentier in the Chapel of the Virgin.
1. Detail of the stucco under an arch during cleaning.
2. Painting a background shade on lacunae.
Details of the stucco in the chapel, after reconstitution of faux marble trompe l'œil.
North side of the nave
1. View of the nave's north side.
2. Detail from the wall at the Saint-Jacques pilaster after reconstitution with the application of a patina.
Using tracing paper for the reconstruction of decors and inscriptions.
Condition of the decor before reconstitution :
1 and 2. Detail of the foliage and a gilded garland before and after cleaning.
3 and 4. Details of the wall above the Saint-Jacques pilaster before installing the plaster, and the démarouflage of the escutcheon.
Applying a coating and making a reconstitution before the marouflage of the eschutcheon.
Sponsor
City of Paris
Team
Team of 7 curators :
Restorer/representative : Catherine Huisse.
Co-contractors : Cécile Charpentier, Guillaume Bénard-Tertrais, Adriana Blendea
Jean-Jacques Coquery, Yolanta Mendili, Nathalie Legillon.