Factors of deterioration

The Hall of Mirrors has 357 mercury mirrors.

The shallow pitch of the roof, frost, storms, differences in temperature and humidity as between the intrados and extrados of the vaulted ceiling, condensation as a result of the large numbers of courtiers congregating there, dirt caused by the constant burning of many candles : these were just some of the factors rendering the Hall of Mirrors fragile and, very soon, leading to signs of deterioration - partial restoration efforts began in 1698, just fifteen years after the Hall had been completed !

Three time in the course of two centuries – between 1750 and 1950 – major restoration campaigns were undertaken.

Between 1752 and 1768, Colin and Godefroy had to re-attach a number of canvases that had become detached from the ceiling - too heavy, too big, aging of the glue, leaks, etc…

Napoleon I’s contribution at Versailles was principally focused on restoring the structural fabric of its various buildings; under Louis XVIII more time was spent on the interiors, with a team of painters (Ducis, Blondel, Heim, Paulin-Guérin) starting work as of 1814. But only in 1821-22 would a survey be made of the overall condition of the Hall of Mirrors : the ensuing works lasted until the end of the reign of Charles X and involved a number of major operations – dismantling the canvases, consolidation, making good missing features, etc…

For the rest of the XIXth century and into the early XXth century, repairs were only carried out on an emergency basis. Then, funding from the Rockefeller Foundation having enabled the palace to be made watertight, a third major campaign to refurbish the Hall of Mirrors was embarked upon after the Second World War : structural reinforcement of the ceiling, some basic restoration of paintings that were cracked, split, coming unstuck/tacked down, becoming brittle or with the varnish dulled in places due to tiny cracks, etc.

A new restoration campaign has become a matter of urgency

The Marble Courtyard.

Yet another half-century has passed : with the advances made in restoration techniques and the enhanced scientific resources available to conservators concerned to ensure all intervention is reversible, the time is ripe to undertake a thorough restoration of this tremendous masterpiece now classified as one of Unesco’s World Heritage sites.

The millions of people who come to admire Versailles are entitled to find one of the supreme achievements of European art in a good state of preservation. The Hall of Mirrors, too, is surely entitled to assistance in the difficult process of growing old gracefully : it is, in places, difficult, today, to discern here the hand of Charles Le Brun, in a room that was once the admiration of Europe, becoming – in its own right – the symbol of absolute power.

Signs of the sort of damage noted in the XIXth century are once again very much in evidence. Time, undoubtedly, for a complete restoration of the painted, sculptural and architectural decoration of the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.