On May 31, 2016, serious flooding hit Montargis, notably affecting the Girodet museum. 85% of the works were damaged. Today, the long restoration work continues. It will last for several more years.
In the reserves of the Girodet museum – a windowless basement bathed in yellow light – a statuette of Napoleon is wrapped in bubble wrap. Micro-cracks cross the face of the emperor. An involuntary, unwanted “artistic gesture”. That of water on alabaster: “The two together do not mix well, especially when the stone remains submerged for 72 hours”laments Sébastien Brunner, restaurateur.
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Eight years after the floods of 2016 which damaged 85% of the works at the Girodet museum, restorations continue between Paris, Touraine and workshops at the museum.
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©France 3 Center – Loire Valley
Placed in a cardboard box, the statuette, like ten others, will return to its workshop in Touraine: “We will clean the surfaces, reinforce the base and restore the metal parts, but not everything will be recoverable, unfortunately.” Especially the cracks.
Eight years after the floods of 2016, the Girodet museum is pursuing a priestly mission: restoring all the works that were damaged that day. And they are numerous: at least 4,000, or 85% of the collections.
“Today it is estimated that 35% of them have been restored, specifies Sidonie Lemeux-Fraitot, director of the museum. It’s a very long schedule, but we can’t go any faster: 25 restorers work every day for the Girodet museum. For a museum of our size, that’s almost a maximum. And then, restoring also requires a lot of reflection and caution. Rushing would be a mistake.”
The priority, from the first months following the floods: the rescue of the fine arts and the works of Anne-Louis Girodet, an 18th century painter born in Montargis and who gave her name to the museum.
“A flooded museum is unprecedented in France, continues Sidonie Lemeux-Fraitot. The only reference we have is the flood of Florence in 1966. And as it is unprecedented, we do not know how the works will react. Certain paintings that have already been restored require new findings and new restorations.”
In a room adjoining the large gallery, two restorers look at a wooden coffin. An Egyptian coffin from the 21st dynasty, 3000 years old. Equipped with magnifying glasses, tweezers and wooden sticks wrapped in cotton, they clean every inch of the lid:
“We managed to save and fix the polychromy, that is to say the paintingexplains Sophie Joigneau, restaurateur in Tours. Placed on a layer of clay, it peeled off. The difficulty is that the coffin has already undergone several restorations in the past, some not always respectful of the work. Our goal is to restore it to its original appearance, to show the real work of the Egyptians at the time.”
Cost of restorations, for now: 1.4 million euros. “Everyone put their hand in their pocket, underlines Christelle Oliveira, vice-president in charge of cultureMontargoise agglomeration, owner of the museum. The State, the Region, and ourselves. It’s important, because the museum makes Montargis shine.”
A museum that has had to adapt to continue offering works to visitors : “We deviate from the rule of ideal planning, continues Sidonie Lemeux-Fraitot. The programming adapts to catering needs. Instead of requiring a room to be completely hung, we’re going to open it up anyway, and add works as we go along.”
The curator estimates that it will take several more years before all the works in the Girodet museum are restored. “We do it because as a museum, it is our duty to transmit artistic heritage to future generations”.
