News of the restoration of the South Tower of the Cathedral of Troyes in January and February 2022. The project and the various projects of mediation and arts and cultural education implemented around the restoration follow their course.
Intervention on the sculpture
The guts
The Chatignoux company is currently studying the maximum conservation of bone gougeons in place, while guaranteeing the restoration of the decorations. Some will have to be filed to allow the fixing of the registry and will be kept after their filing.
These animal bones (bovine or ovine), inexpensive and inert materials, unlike iron which is likely to break the stone, were used both as a stone sealing technique and as a drain against moisture.
Learn more about this technique on Gallica
"Annales des arts et manufactures, or Mémoires technologiques sur les découvertes modernes concernant les arts, les manufactures, l'agriculture et le commerce" by R. O'Reilly (March 31, 1810)
Removal of XIX Patchinge century
All the unsightly adjustments made during the restoration campaigns of the XIXe are purged and the joints completely degraded. 3 levels are still to be treated.
On carved areas, a stone stopper will be placed.
Removal of the railing
The railing of the high terrace, very degraded, was deposited and the templates were made. They are currently in the workshop, in view of their size.
Cleaning of siding and sculptures
The cleaning of the sidings follows its course despite the inclement weather. The cleaning of a single level takes an average of 1 to 2 days by a person, on the other hand, for level 0, the most affected by black crusts of pollution, 2 weeks of intervention will have been necessary.
The Enache workshop carried out the same operations on the sculptures, starting with the high parts.
The notebook of the new sculptures to be planned has been validated by the project owner (the DRAC Grand Est) and the project owner (the chief architect of the historical monuments).
Site mediation
Guided tours
Public visits continue on the site. They are provided by the Office de tourisme de Troyes and the DRAC Grand Est. Since October 2021, 268 adults and more than 80 children (at level 4) have already been able to discover the restaurant.
Art practice workshop
The fresco, which will decorate one of the linear walls of the construction site, is in production. The project, which is part of an artistic practice workshop, conducted with CM students2 from the 14 July school in Troyes, by the UNESCO Center for Troyes, will be delivered at the end of February 2022. It is supervised by the artist Rachel Mathaux.
We reveal some images in preview.
Classroom Interventions
Alexandra Enache of the sculpture workshop Enache spoke in the CM2 class of the primary school Le Grand Pré Vert, Lusigny-sur-Barse, on January 18, 2022.
The sculptor presented her work and the different stages of creating or restoring a sculpture and the tools used. An intervention within the framework of the Globalized Artistic Project "I discover my heritage", implemented within the framework of the partnership of the DRAC Grand Est with the National Education (Rectorate of the Academy of Reims/Direction des Services Départementaux de l'Éducation Nationale de l'Aube).
Learn more about this intervention on the site of the DSDEN de l'Aube
Portraits of the speakers
Antoine Grassin
38 years
15 years in the company Chatignoux
A stonemason by training, Antoine Grassin has a variety of assignments within the company, including masonry work and occasional team coaching. He was rewarded with a decoration for his 10 years of exercise.
I intervened on the previous phase of work on the cathedral, 10 years ago. I had worked more in the workshop because there was a lot of size to do. On site, I was mainly present at the time of the installation of the pediment and the size of the balusters. I am surprised by this work because I thought we would be working on the Saint-Pierre Tower.”
“I appreciate this work. The ornamentation is rich, it changes small village churches, that’s why it’s called a cathedral… even if the work on the small churches is pleasant, because a town the size of Troyes is noisy.”
The work on the high balustrade of the terrace will be important, because it is very degraded, the work in the workshop will be exciting.
Julien Millot
21 years
Stonemason
1 year in the company Chatignoux
Working in the company after 4 years of study in Dijon, in CAP stone cutting and a 2-year BAC in stone art at the Marts d'Or high schools in Dijon, Julien Millot completed various internships in several companies before choosing his place of practice. Before this construction he intervened on the Paraclay.
The construction of the cathedral is interesting because it needs to be very thorough. There is a lot to learn and know-how to implement on this type of site. You have to pay attention to every detail. In addition to working on a monument of his city it is a real pride.
I hope I can stay until the end of the construction site, but probably a second team will come to back up. I can’t wait to start cutting in the workshop because the release of the joints is quite long! Fortunately, the construction facilities and scaffolding are very comfortable."
Upgrading of wood panelled architecture
The fragment of Trojan architecture in wood that had been preserved for several years in the courtyard of the cathedral is now saved and housed in the courtyard of the Vauluisant museum. It will be presented definitively once restored and bedridden and will thus contribute to the enrichment of the Trojan public collections.
The Chatignoux company carried out the operation with all the necessary care, especially for the rag panels, very degraded. The restoration is planned for 2022 and will be carried out by the museums of the city of Troyes.
An Economic Recovery Plan Operation
The restoration of the Cathedral of Troyes is an operation financed under the "Cathedrals plan" of the Plan de relance de l'économie to the tune of €1,005,082 out of a total amount of 1 042 013 €, it is 100% supported by the State.
Contracting authority : State - Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs Grand Est
Project management : Michel Trubert, Chief Architect of Historical Monuments - Trubert Architects Agency.