These three rooms, the most emblematic of which represents the baptism of Clovis by Bishop Saint Remi, benefit from a completely redesigned scenography in the museum adjoining the Basilica of Saint-Remi.
They have been the subject of a dusting, cleaning and restoration campaign, including the installation of a lightened lining, in linen, at the royal manufacture De Wit (Belgium), a world reference in the field.
The cost of the operation for all ten tapestries amounts to 350,000 euros.
Bénédicte Hernu, director of the historical museums of Reims, observes a detail of one of the three restored tapestries of the life of Saint Remi, September 13, 2023 in Reims © FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI / AFP
"This is the largest tapestry conservation campaign underway in France," said Pierre Maes, director of the manufacture during a press presentation.
The other pieces will return to Reims gradually, four in 2024, the last in 2025.
Listed as historical monuments since 1896, these tapestries are "exceptional" by their size, five meters by five, and "because they constitute a series that tells a story in its entirety," said Bénédicte Hernu, director of the historical museums of the City of Reims.
The tapestries, which were no longer presented to the public since 2017 to protect them from the misdeeds of light, had been commissioned by the archbishop of Reims, Robert de Lenoncourt, admiring his illustrious predecessor who, in the fifth century, baptized in Reims Clovis I, king of the Franks.
Bénédicte Hernu, director of the historical museums of Reims, observes a detail of one of the three restored tapestries of the life of Saint Remi, September 13, 2023 in Reims © FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI / AFP
In 1916, during the First World War, nine pieces of the ensemble were evacuated to Paris to escape the bombings.
Remaining in Reims, the tenth would have been riddled with bullets, according to some accounts. Its future restoration by the De Wit factory should make it possible to have the heart clear.
© 2023 AFP