After the devastating fire, time for reconstruction. And being able to participate was “incredible news” for Margot Morisse, from the Morisse-Morini workshop in Nice, selected to participate in the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris. His team won the call for tenders against “big names in the field” and will have to, from July or August and for three months, take care of “all objects in stone, marble, the sculptures on the altars and the plaques” of the thirteen chapels of the cathedral.
The conservative restorer explains that she will also be in charge of “the baptismal font” and is very enthusiastic because she likes to “work bronze”. In this field, it is also necessary to “specialize” to “make a name for yourself”, especially “when it comes to historical monuments”, she says.
“I fell into it when I was little”
And a specialist, she is. “I fell into it when I was little,” says Margot Morisse. “I was 14, I watched a documentary on catering and I immediately knew that I wanted to make it my job, remembers the Azurean, who has been in business for thirty years. For my studies, I had the choice between Paris and Rome. I went to Italy. And it was a crazy experience. Whether you raise your head, walk, or even dig a hole in your garden, everything is History. We then moved to Nice in 1997.”
The preferred field of the workshop are “metals, ceramics, stone” and “mural painting”. “We were on a construction site in the Var where we managed to remove ten layers of paint and find the original paint. It was magical ! »
“We are a bit like doctors”
The Niçoise likes to think that after her visit, “people will be able to admire important elements of heritage again”. She develops: “We are a bit like doctors of History, we do everything we can to ensure that the works endure over time. We have a power. But sometimes it doesn’t work, even if we don’t want to think it’s impossible. To make the magic work as much as possible, she uses “a range of instruments that ranges from the utensils of a dental surgeon to the tools of a mason, but in miniature”. And sometimes even a laser.
A know-how and a passion that have made the workshop a must for certain “very prestigious” sites. “We have been working with the Château de Chambord for 20 years. We also made the court of Versailles, the Opera of Toulon or the church of Saint-Michel in Menton, ”she says. My favorite moment in the business is when you find a hidden signature. Always as close as possible to heritage, centuries, millennia and past eras. “The emotion is always intense whether we are handling axes from prehistory or stones from the Renaissance. We go through history and we ensure that these objects also. »
Before leaving for Paris, the workshop will receive collectibles to be restored, including incredible ones whose value reaches 20,000 euros each.