Viollet-le-Duc and archaeology

Acknowledged as one of the greatest artists and intellectuals of his time, the architect-restorer Eugène Viollet-le-Duc also had a real passion for archaeology. Before any restoration project, he methodically explored the remains where his works were carried out, to extract any traces, works or furniture abandoned by History. Once inventoried and studied, these artefacts represented for Eugène Viollet-le-Duc invaluable evidence of a forgotten past, whose secrets he was trying to unravel.From 2022 to 2024, the restoration of the Preuses wing of the Château de Pierrefonds, entrusted to Pierre Bortolussi architecte en chef des monuments historiques by the Centre des monuments nationaux, also brought to light a number of unsuspected objects.Test pits in the walls, a study of the pictorial layers in the vault of the Salle des Preuses and the exposure of the framework and roofing of the wing have revealed a surprising amount oftechnical know-how and choices .This exhibition invites you to discover previously unseen archaeological objects and iconographic documents, highlighted by a fun and interactive mediation system.

Curated by Thierry Galmiche, Marie-Laure Le Brazidec, Vincent Legros and Arnaud Timbert.