The experts are unanimous.
The woodwork, decorations and ceilings which have just been reassembled at the Hôtel de Rohan - headquarters of the National Archives - and which will be presented this Tuesday, are among the most beautiful testimonies of the Parisian decorations of the 18th century.
"The quality and originality of these decorations are unique and they have found a place worthy of their value", rejoices Bertrand du Vignaud, former president of Christie's Monaco, then of the World Monument Fund Europe (WMF) and lover of the art, without whom these woodwork would still sleep in 140 boxes in warehouses in Asnières (Hauts-de-Seine).
Bertrand du Vignaud, former president of Christie's Monaco, then of the World Monument Fund Europe, is at the origin of this crazy project.
DR
Almost a hundred years ago, the Banque de France, in order to expand its offices, decided to destroy the Voyer d'Argenson mansion, known under the name of Chancellerie d'Orléans.
Listed as a historical monument in 1914, this site, although one of the most beautiful palaces of the time, was downgraded and razed to the ground… to build the premises necessary for the institution.
Faced with the public scandal, the Banque de France undertakes to reassemble all the sets.
With great care, everything is methodically dismantled, crated and stored.
The decorations, up to the ceilings, have been reinstalled.
DR
"The genius of this intuition"
The value of these decorations is not forgotten by art historians. The old Chancellery dining room, transformed by Charles de Wailly, was rich in large caryatids, framing mirrors under the ceiling by Jean-Jacques Lagrenée, representing Hebe pouring nectar to Jupiter. Bas-reliefs in gilded stucco with decorations of lion skins, helmets and cornucopias adorned the large living room under one of the masterpieces of the mansion: the ceiling by Antoine Coypel, Love disarming the gods. In the bedroom of the Marquise de Voyer, a ceiling designed by Louis-Jean-Jacques Durameau completed the harmony of the place. The painter is also the author of the ceilings of the Royal Opera of the Palace of Versailles (Yvelines).
The projects multiply then for their restitution in a place the best adapted.
The Louvre, Carnavalet and Saint-Cloud (Hauts-de-Seine) are considered.
Even germinates the idea of creating a building built to the nearest centimeter to accommodate these treasures of wood, stucco, gilding and plaster.
But none succeeds.
Paris (3rd).
It was in the Hôtel de Rohan that Bertrand du Vignaud had the “intuition” to imagine the reassembly of the decorations.
DR
It was finally Bertrand du Vignaud, from 1979, who, little by little, made the idea of restitution in the Hôtel de Rohan obvious.
"He had the genius of this intuition", we recognize him at the National Archives.
Thanks to 3 million euros in donations from wealthy American patrons, the boss of the WMF succeeded in 2000 in financing the inventory of stored crates.
He had a repositioning model made and even started the first restorations.
"The Hôtel de Rohan, built at the same time as the Chancellery, is ideally located in Paris, between courtyard and garden, with the same orientation," describes Bertrand du Vignaud.
Completely stripped of their original decor on the ground floor, the rooms on the garden side have the same number of windows as those of the Voyer d'Argenson hotel.
"
American-funded studies
On paper, that's ideal.
The art enthusiast funded studies by the Americans, and succeeded in obtaining the green light from the National Commission of Historic Monuments for the reassembly.
We are in 2014. President of the scientific committee for a while, he will finally be out of it.
"On his own, he could not take charge of this vast organization which brought together about fifty skills for a site in a public building", defends the administration.
At the same time, the financing of another 15 million of necessary works is supported by the Ministry of Culture and the Bank of France.
The decorations had been preserved since 1923. DR
The chief architect of historical monuments François Jeanneau was then in charge of the construction of the Archives quadrilateral.
Paul Barnoud, also chief architect of historical monuments, is responsible for the on-site return of this giant puzzle of thousands of dismantled pieces, from the woodwork to the period locks.
It will take six years of hard work.
The reassembly turns out to be of impressive complexity.
The historical order of the rooms, between the bedroom, the large living room and the dining room will have to be changed.
Only half of the woodwork in the anteroom will fit into the Hôtel de Rohan.
70 cm to dig to fit in the decorations
On the spot, the observation is severe: everything fits… “almost”, recognize the architects.
But about 70 cm is missing under the ceiling of the Hôtel de Rohan to install the decor of the large living room.
They can be found by reducing the floor of the first floor and by hollowing out the floor above the cellars.
Powerful metal beams are placed to support the weight of the ceilings.
It is also necessary to play with the different spacing of the bays between the two monuments.
But craftsmen and experts work miracles.
“This Tuesday, during the inauguration, visitors will have the impression that these decorations have always been there”, rejoices Paul Barnoud.
We must now hope that these Parisian treasures, refurnished by the Mobilier National, will be open as widely as possible to the general public.
