“What a marvel to find this incredible decor hidden under a century of dust” Marie Parant, restorer

“As a student at the Beaux-Arts in Toulouse, I became a restorer of easel paintings. In the 1980s, I started as an employee for a specialist in Paris, who only worked on paintings classified as historic monuments: this put me in contact with curators.

In 1991, I started my business and in 2004, I resumed studies to obtain a state diploma, which had become essential for working with museums. At the same time, I obtained mural painting projects. This type of on-site, team-based restoration allows you to escape the solitude of the workshop.

I formed close ties with colleagues who would become the “hard core” of the group we formed to restore the chapels painted by Viollet-le-Duc in the choir of Notre-Dame. This project was carried out under the stressful pressure of deadlines, but what a wonder to find this incredible decor hidden under a century of dust! Such quality helped conserve the energy needed to last two years.

We also had to keep the overall vision of each chapel, even though our work was done in detail, in an environment partitioned by scaffolding. It was very enriching to work with other trades. I can’t wait to enter the reopened Notre-Dame to marvel with new eyes, to see it as a place of worship and no longer as a construction site. »