VERSAILLES PALACE

Evening Star, Issue 19518, 28 March 1927, Page 8

VERSAILLES PALACE

EXTENSIVE REPAIR WBHK SPENDING MANV MILLIONS. Recent visitors to Versailles will have observed that the lower hall ol the sleepy street, the Rue do Peintro Lebrun, which rims parallel with the Rue des Reservoirs and across the long main street, the Rno do la Paroisse, has lately been renamed, it is now the Rue Rockefeller, and the compliment is but an outward and visible sign ol the deep gratitude felt by the French people as a whole, and the town of Versailles in particular, for _ Iho American millionaires' generosity in May, 192:. At that time Mr Rockefeller, having returned to I'ranee alter an absence ol seventeen voars, ami being struck afresh with the’beauty of her palaces and cathedrals, gave the sum of 1,000,000 dollars for the repair and upkeep of Versailles, Fontainebleau, and the Cathedral of Rhcims. Ho stipulated that this sum should bo spent on those parts of the buildings most in need of repairs, such ns roofs and wall surfaces and inner stays. So far as Versailles is concerned, the ten million francs allotted tor repairs of the Chateau and the Grand Trianon has been almost entirely absorbed in the most vigorous reinforcement of the numerous weak spots. millions were spent in 1925 alone. The work carried out by means of the special grant has moved side by side with the renovation of the Chateau, just ns the special committee appointed by the Commission des Monuments Historiqucs has deliberated in company v r iih iho Franco-Ameriean Committee on whatever matters concerned tha immediate application of the Rockefeller hind, and no measure is taken unless approved by both.

The first nart of t he immense edifice to bo attacked was the roof and the facade of the Ailcs des Ministres, the long bicolored wings leading down to tiro Place d’Armcs. Next the roof between -4110 Chapel and the Opera had copper substituted for its slates; and a similar, but more extensive; change was made on the 100yds long roof over the Calorie des Glaces, where, in place of what had been a mixture of slate and load, lead alone was laid down. Finally, the facades of the central pavilion (built by King Lcuis NHL) and the two wings with pillars, and architraves reaching out on oil her side ot_ the statue of King Louis XfV., designed by Gabriel, were scraped and put in order. A QUESTION OF COLOR. The restoration of the Grand Trianon was a more ticklish matter. 1 lie famous vieux rose of its marble was endeared to many by tho verses of Henri do Regnier and Albert Samain, and when the plan conceived by tho architect in charge, M. Patrice Bonnot, was bruited abroad a quiver of agitation ran through tho literary and artistic world. But M. Bonnet carried the dav, and tho result amply justifies his initiative. The Trianon, ho reasoned rightly, was built as a frivolous contrast to, almost as a relief from, the sober stateliness of the vast chateau itself; if proof there was,the existence of the original Trianon previous to the one still standing, faced entirely with the blue and_ white porcelain of Delft, constructed in 1602 for a pavilion a prendre des collations. In other words, he argued, this polychrome fantasy, instead of be'ng lost .n its age-long dream of half-tones, ought to bo restored to its pristine gaiety. What was more, when tho marble had been cleaned and its warmer red restored to it, it was found that the vieil of the stone which was supposed to offer a contrast to the vieux rose—a contrast greatly lessened by the passage of time —was the effect of a wash of color spread on under King_ Louis Philippe; and what we see now is the stone of a more authentic and more honest; mellowness and a marble rosier by the

juxtaposition, resembling more tho original slabs' V,"ought from the quarries of Southern France. l The obstacle once overcome, the restwas easy. Tim-steps loading from the tcrraco into *lio Trianon gardens have been cleaned; and, incidentally, the whole garden is gradually to ho lowered, for tho proportions between it and the terrace are found to have been lost. Tho coquettish little theatre or Queen Mario Antoinette in tho grounds has had its outside walls restored to something, like the original (King Louis Philippe had stepped in litre also). ‘Tlim Little Trianon still remains to ho dealt with. Tho State has already spent 11,000,000 francs on restoring the Hamean. This vear iho financial crisis so impeded the progress of tho repairs that ihey were not begun until July. The roof over tho Louis MV. petits appartcmonls lias been mended, and the inside of (lie chapel roof lias been strengthened. while at the Grand Trianon tho ■.-ci-apiim ol tho facade has been continued,"and the facade and tho steps of the western wing, known as the Tn’anon-sous-Ilnis, have been taken in hand. Tho thoroughness and extent of tho work- undertaken will ho understood from the fact that the 10,000,000 francs will have been exhausted by the dose of this year.