Restorations at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rennes

18/4/24 - Restorations - Rennes, Musée des Beaux-Arts - The DJ (or disc-jockeys) of electro music - the Shindi collective - asked the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rennes to shoot a video clip in the heart of the permanent exhibition. There was no danger to the works, and the musicians nodded peacefully behind their keyboards, under the watchful eye of Guillaume Kazerouni, who is in charge of the paintings and old master drawings, while the sound, recorded directly on the computer, did not make any loudspeakers roar or throb. This anecdote is interesting because these twenty-something musicians did not choose the contemporary art section to dialogue with their techno creations, nor did they stop in front of the inevitable Impressionists. No, the "young people of today" prefer the eloquence of gestures and the expression of passions. They are attracted by the Grand Siècle, epitomised by Charles Le Brun and his monumental Descent from the Cross, as well as by the official art of the Salons in the 19th century and by the great historical spreads, long shunned and even denigrated by art historians. One painting in particular caught their eye, by Pierre-Auguste Vafflard entitled The Honours Paid to du Guesclin, which was exhibited at the Salon of 1806. Long relegated to storage, this work has just been restored and has been hanging in the galleries of the Musée de Rennes since 25 March (ill. 1 and 2).

1. Pierre-Auguste Vafflard (1777-1837)
Honours Paid to Duguesclin, 1806 (under restoration)
Oil on canvas - 310 x 422.5 cm
Rennes, Musée des Beaux-Arts
Photo: Arcanes/MBA de Rennes

See the image in its page

In reality, it was not intended to be part of the permanent exhibition. Very damaged, it was initially the subject of minimal restoration, limited to conservation operations: consolidating and stabilising the support, cleaning the pictorial layer. But this initial intervention revealed the painting’s qualities and historical importance. So Guillaume Kazerouni decided to go ahead with the restoration in order to restore its integrity and present it to the public. The problem was that this second stage was not included in the initial budget, so funding had to be found. The AG2R La Mondiale Foundation for Artistic Vitality provided the necessary funds. Created in 2017, this corporate foundation draws on the Group’s regional roots to support artistic projects along three possible lines: preserving the region’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage, showcasing contemporary creation and promoting arts and crafts.

2. Pierre-Auguste Vafflard (1777-1837)
Honours Paid to Duguesclin, 1806 (after restoration)
Oil on canvas - 310 x 422.5 cm
Rennes, Musée des Beaux-Arts
Photo: Arcanes/MBA de Rennes

See the image in its page

Between 2021 and 2024, Pierre-Auguste Vafflard’s work was restored in two stages by the Arcanes workshop, which agreed - and we salute the effort - to keep this (very) large format on its premises…