It was Patrimoine weekend in France this weekend, when all the chateaus and monuments open their doors for people to visit. There are spectacles and concerts and lots of things to see (most of which are free).On Saturday afternoon, Lisbeth went to a lecture in one of the churches in her local town. It was to explain how this huge painting by Eugene Appert (1814-1867), that hangs in the church, was being restored, and to talk about the skills and techniques involved in the restoration of old paintings in general.
One of the things that Lisbeth told me about was the cigarette! Lisbeth has had this house for five years. For all of that time, the black Maggi on the left of the painting had seemed to have a half-smoked cigarette in his mouth. Lisbeth said it always looked so bizarre and out of place, but it was exactly on his lip and hung down as a real cigarette would. During the lecture, one of the restorers explained that the 'cigarette' was, in fact, pigeon shit which, she was pleased to inform everyone, had finally been cleaned away.
The painting continues to be patched, cleaned and retouched to its former glory.
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