1,300 works that will be exhibited in the future tour route are affected by these restorations. In March 2022, the restoration of around 400 paintings had thus begun in the public workshops of the C2RMF in Versailles and Paris (Centre for Research and Restoration of Museums of France), of the CICRP in Marseille (Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation and Restoration of Heritage) and in the workshops of Niort.
The first works restored outside have recently been reframed and have joined the new reserves within the Bonnat-Helleu Museum. Beyond the spectacular improvement in their condition of presentation, important discoveries have enriched knowledge of the works (signatures, repainting, reattributions, etc.) and advanced research. The restoration project implemented by the Bonnat-Helleu Museum constitutes, as such, an exceptional project in France for the history of art and collections, the scale and ambition of which are highlighted and recognized.
Start of internal restorations
As the reopening approaches, the lightest restoration campaigns of the works have begun in the newly delivered spaces of the museum, et They will continue until the collections are hung up in the future historic building in the summer of 2025.
The total cost of the collections project is estimated at more than €4 million, made necessary by the slow deterioration of the varnishes and the soiling of the works for more than a century in a building that has become unsuitable. It is currently one of the largest projects carried out in a museum in France. The State, which manages part of the collections, also contributed to its financing.
