First, save Notre-Dame ... For two years and this April 15, 2019, date of the dramatic fire, all the efforts of the Public Establishment of the Cathedral have focused on securing the building and in particular the perilous dismantling of the imposing exterior scaffolding, made fragile under the effect of the heat.
The actual restoration phase should not begin until the winter of 2021. But, in an emergency, the first steps have already been launched.
VIDEO.
Review our direct from the Notre-Dame de Paris construction site
In August 2020, the dismantling of the large organ, requiring expert hands, began.
In September, two “test” chapels were left in the hands of the restorers.
Objective: to define the protocols to be used, to estimate the deadlines and costs, with a view to an intervention on the 24 chapels of the cathedral, little affected by the fire but degraded by the effect of time.
We met three of the craftsmen who worked on this exceptional site.
Marie Parant, 60, restorer in painting: "We worked four months with masks"
According to Marie Parant, working on the Notre-Dame site “is a dream for any restaurateur”.
LP / Olivier Corsan
Called in urgently for the restoration of the Saint-Ferdinand chapel, Marie Parant is not at her first attempt with Notre-Dame: six months before the fire, she had finished with her team that of the Saint-Ferdinand chapel. Germain.
A form of culmination of an already long career.
First graduated in art history, she returned to university at 40 to obtain a master's degree and obtain her state diploma and become a restorer of national monuments.
“It's important to have good training.
You have to aim as high as possible, ”she advises.
This time, a given has come to seriously complicate the task of restoration: lead.
“The dusting was the first step.
We worked for 4 months with respirator masks… Then, we had to reattach the pictorial layer by injection into the walls and then clean it with gels to remove all the grime.
Finally, when there are gaps, you have to start painting again ”, summarizes Marie Parant.
The result is now magnificent.
“It really touched me to work for Notre-Dame again.
It is a dream for any restaurateur.
And the atmosphere between all the trades was really extraordinary.
"
Amélie Strack, 32, sculpture restorer: "I was baptized there"
Amélie Strack, who restores stones and statues, is sure: working at Notre-Dame will remain "her most beautiful reference".
LP / Olivier Corsan
At first titillated by the desire to become a sculptor, Amélie Starck finally passed her State diploma in restorer at the Sorbonne.
This allows her to continue to rub shoulders with the works of artists permanently, such as during the restoration of the pavilion of the Grandes Ecuries de Chantilly in which she participated.
“I was independent but now I work for Socra, which was on the site before the fire.
It was a great joy to work at Notre-Dame, especially since, for the record, I was baptized there, ”she says with a smile.
Newsletter The list of our desires
Our favorites for fun and culture.
Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters
In the chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the mission, in addition to cleaning the lead, was to restore the stone to its splendor.
“We spray latex and apply compresses to scrub.
For the joints, we also used the laser to find the original color.
We have thus brought to light certain polychromies that we suspected but which had become invisible.
"For her, working at Notre-Dame will of course remain" her best reference.
And then, we really have the impression of participating in a great collective history ”.
Mario d'Amico, 42, organ builder: "We had to put down 8000 pipes"
Mario d'Amico has traveled Europe since he was 16-17 years old to practice his art, that of organ builder.
LP / Olivier Corsan
His name and his little accent betray his Uruguayan origins.
Passionate about the organ since a concert he attended when he was young, Mario d'Amico trained in the workshops of the great masters from 16-17 years old, in Germany in particular.
Since then, he has traveled throughout Europe to practice his art, that of organ builder which ranges from the conception of an instrument to the restoration, as is the case for Notre-Dame.
“Of course, it was first essential to remove all the lead dust, according to very strict protocols.
Then, we had to remove the box springs, the device that allows you to play.
Each is heavier than a grand piano.
Finally, remove the 8000 pipes.
It is a very delicate operation that must be done by hand with gloves.
A pipe may appear solid, but it is very fragile.
Just by squeezing it in your hand, you can deform it, ”he says.
Since then, carefully packaged, they have been waiting in a secret warehouse for the reassembly phase.
“It is a chance and an honor to work on this instrument, a masterpiece known all over the world.
But my real dream is to hear it echo in the cathedral again.
"
