Versailles' Hall of Mirrors cleaned up & restored

"Hall of Mirrors" restored at Versailles

Fri Jun 22, 2007

PARIS (Reuters) - France will unveil one of its most dazzling architectural showcases, the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, next week after a restoration that has brought fresh life to colours buried for years under grime.

The Hall, which witnessed the signing of the Treaty of Versailles after World War One, has undergone a three-year, 12 million euros (8 million pounds) facelift that officials say will restore its splendour without artificial rejuvenation.

Frederic Didier, chief architect of France's historical monuments, told Le Figaro daily that it now looked "like a dazzling old lady".

"And all the wrinkles in her face tell a story," he said.

Built in 1684 on the orders of the "Sun King" Louis XIV, the Hall, which takes its name from 357 mirrors that run along its 73 metre (220 feet) length was the centrepiece of a palace designed to emphasize the power and glory of the monarch.

The decor is considered a high point of European art in the 17th century, a period when France's might and influence was at its height.

A vast ensemble of paintings by artist Charles Le Brun along the vaulted roof show a series of allegorical scenes depicting events from the king's reign from battles in the Dutch War to economic and administrative reforms.

Louis XIV used the gallery for particularly important ceremonial occasions, including a reception for the ambassador of the King of Siam in 1686. It was also where the victorious King of Prussia, Wilhelm I, proclaimed the inauguration of the German Empire after the Franco-Prussian War in 1871.

Versailles is included on the United Nations' list of world heritage sites but over the years, the luminous colouring of the paintings had become darkened and obscured.

Some of the mirrors had become streaked and discoloured.

"Honestly, it was all dark. Le Brun's paintings had taken on a very dark academic air, whereas the painter was a great colourist," Didier said.

The Hall of Mirrors has already undergone previous restorations, the first a mere 15 years after its completion to repair damage caused by condensation from the breath of hundreds of courtiers and the soot from thousands of candles.

The latest restoration was carried out in stages and the gallery, which attracts 3 million visitors a year, remained open while the work was being carried out.