Latona's Fountain brought back to life restoration of the Fountain and Parterre, Thanks to sponsorship by Fondation Philanthropia June 2012 - May 2015 Press contacts Hélène Dalifard Aurélie Gevrey Elsa Martin Violaine Solari + 33(0)1 30 83 75 21 presse@ch ateauversailles.fr You must then go st raight up to Latona's Fountain and pause to consider Latona himself, the lizards, ramps, st atues, the Royal Way, Apollo's Fountain and the canal, then turn around to see the parterre and the palace. Louis XIV in Manière de montrer les jardins de Versailles 5 Contents press release 6 the work : a few figures and a few people 8 challenges inherent to the work 13 essential restoration work 14 restoration choices 15 challenges inherent to the work, step by step 17 a synergy of professions of excellence 31 the gardeners 32 fountain engineers 34 metal restorers 35 metal gilders 36 masons compagnons 37 marble restorers 38 roofer compagnons 39 an experience shared with as many people as possible 41 un chantier à cœur ouvert 42 #latone : le chantier en direct sur internet 44 fondation philanthropia 47 the historiy of a masterpiece 51 appendices 59 Versailles, 18 th May 2015 Press release Latona's Fountain brought back to life Latona's Fountain and Parterre restored thanks to a gift by Fondation Philanthropia Thanks to a gift by the Fondation Philanthropia, Latona's Fountain and Parterre, two masterpieces of the gardens of Versailles, are getting a new lease of life. This exceptional restoration project has taken more than two years and has called upon a remarkable synergy of knowledge. Created by Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Latona's Fountain is without doubt the most famous work in the gardens of Versailles with its tiered polych rome marble centrepiece, rich sculptures in lead and marble and cleverly designed water jets. Situated in the centre of Le Nôtre's Grand Persp ect ive, it is also the key st ruct ure in the hydraulic syst em of Versailles. More than three centuries after its creation, deterioration had aff ect ed the fountain and its components. Work on the infrast ruct ures, hydrant syst em and sculptures was needed urgently. Modifi cations had aff ect ed the st ruct ure's overall st ability with impact s on the general watertightness of the pool. Launch ed in 2013, the work is now complete. The restoration Latona's Fountain is one of the major works of public interest for which philanthropy has proven its importance and utility. Private funding complemented State fi nancing and resp onsibility, and Fondation Philanthropia's support to the est ate of Versailles for Latona's Fountain is a fi ne example of this. Th e foundation, created for clients of Lombard Odier bank, aims to facilitate their philanthropic engagement. Press contacts «Fondation Philanthropia is committed to supporting the rest oration of Latona's Fountain because Palace of Versailles Hélène Dalifard transmitting heritage is one of its major concerns. In the case of the fountain, this universal piece of Aurélie Gevrey heritage is not only an arch itect ural gem and its rest oration a tech nical ch allenge, but it also reveals Elsa Martin Violaine Solari the immense wealth of artist ic professions involved in its renovation. » +33 (0)1 30 83 75 21 Thierry Lombard, President of Fondation Philanthropia presse@ch ateauversailles.fr Fondation This exceptional ‘open air’ restoration project has been followed st ep-by-st ep by the Philanthropia millions of visitors to the gardens of Versailles. With the object ive of re-creating the composition's Luc Giraud-Guigues +41 (0) 22 709 1908 original appearance, rest oration was planned for the overall st ruct ure including plant life, the l.giraud-guigues @fondationphilanthropia.org hydrant syst em, materials and sculptures. François Mutter T +41 (0) 22 709 9364 [email protected] 7 Th is required employing the best tech niques and materials of the past and present, as well as a number of craft s, notably some rare and highly sp ecialised artist ic professions. Multiple craft smen, art mast ers and engineers have worked on the project under the leadership of Pierre-André Lablaude, Head Arch itect for Hist oric Monuments, and the Heritage and Gardens Direct orate of the Palace of Versailles. In a manifest desire by the Palace of Versailles to preserve heritage and transmit knowledge, and with the support of Fondation Philanthropia, a sp ecial focus was placed on preserving the knowledge and tech niques of those who have worked on this major operation. Th is approach has taken on concrete form with the training of apprentices by sp ecialist companies; lead sculptors, marble workers, gilders, fountain engineers, st onemasons, metal rest orers and gardeners have all contributed to rest oring Latona's Fountain to its original sp lendour. «The rest oration of Latona's fountain has allowed a 'bond of excellence' to be est ablished between the past and the present through the timeless work of artist ic professions. It has off ered the public the oppor- tunity to see the transmission of knowledge but has also, more concretely, allowed the employment of ten or so apprentices. We have decided to syst ematise this training across all our heritage project s from now on. This invisible yet exemplary ch ain that connect s the craft smen and artist s of today to those of the past is what gives the Mast erpiece of the gardens of Versailles its sp arkle.» Catherine Pégard, President of the Public Institution of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles. About Fondation Philanthropia A philanthropic public-benefi t foundation connect ed to Lombard Odier bank, Fondation Philanthro- pia facilitates the implementation of its donors' philanthropic initiatives in all areas of citizen engage- ment, including art and culture, social act ion, education, the environment and medical research . www.fondationphilanthropia.org Latona's Fountain A masterpiece of the garderns brought back to life With its parterre, gilded lead fi gures of countrymen and animals, water jets and beautiful sculpted group in marble topping it all off , Latona's Fountain is the real gem of the gardens of Versailles. Created by Le Nôtre in 1665 and embellished by Hardouin-Mansart, it has now been rest ored to its former glory thanks to an exemplary renovation project . Th is book covers the hist ory of this mast er piece and the adventure of its rest oration, made possible thanks to the use of exceptional knowledge of gardeners, fountain engineers, masons, carvers and marble rest orers, moulders, metal rest orers, plumbers, roofers and gilders. 24 x 22 cm, paperback, inside cover, 84 pages, 65 Illustrations, € 17 Bilingual French / English. Jointly edited by Artlys/ Château de Versailles 8 The work: a few figures Fountain key dates The FOUNTAIN The parterre 12th March 2013: 760m2 removal of of surface area 1.35 ha total surface area the Latona group of fi gures 110m3 of dressed-st one in the four-level 20,000 box trees May 2013: removal of the tiered centrepiece 90 yew trees sculpted lead fi gures 3 varieties of marble: 2 June – August 2013: removal of 4,200m of lawn - Carrara marble: 78 metres of the marble facing from the tiered 1,600 tonnes of gravel coping, 81 metres of footings centrepiece 150 tonnes of sand October 2013 - February 2014: - Red Languedoc marble: 49 3 km of metal edging disassembly of the dressed-st one metres of vertical slabs 6 months of work tiered centrepiece - Campan Grand Melange marble: th th 27 and 28 January 2014: 28 mètres of vertical slabs removal of the lead rings of the 74 sculpted lead decorative fi gures: Craftspeople sp ider - 6 countrymen being transformed, February - May 2014: st rengthening - 38 9 of the foundations of the centre- frogs, fountain engineers piece - 15 lizards 17 gardeners 29th September 2014: the lead - 15 tortoises. 7 gilders 9 rings of the sp ider put back 27 tonnes of lead for the ch anelling masons September - December 2014: reas- and fountain works 9 boilermakers, metal sculpture sembly of the masonry of the tiered 74 water features and 74 nozzles rest orers centrepiece 449 m3 4 roofers sp ecialised in lead November 2014 - April 2015 of water : the roofi ng marble facing put back 0.70 m water height 10 apprentices December 2014 - April 2015: improved watertightness using lead sheets October 2014 - April 2015: rest o- The restoration of Latona's fountain in figures ring the fountain's water supply March 2014 - March 2015: rest o- 26 months of work ring the lead sculpted fi gures and 14 tonnes of lead for the bottom of the 3 oval pools in the tiered gilding centrepiece for watertightness; lead sheets used 21st and 22nd April 2015: the 35,000 gold leaves for gilding the 74 lead sculptures gilded lead fi gures put back 200 'louche' weldings for the rest oration of the lead pipes 4th May 2015: placing the group 700 m2 110 metres of sculpted fi gures, fi rst water of paving and of white marble coping for the connect ion rest oration of the fountain 18th May 2015: inauguration 9 and a few people Contracting Public Institution of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles, Heritage and authority Gardens Direct orate, Works Department Daniel Sancho, Heritage and Gardens Direct or Véronique Ciampini, Operations Leader Project management Pierre-André Lablaude, Head Arch itect for Hist oric Monuments Laurent Choffé, project manager, agricultural engineer BMI – Engineering and structures design office : Assist ance to the contract ing authority, diagnosis for the hist orical foundations of the apron.