100% creation
Florence Cailleret, the one who "pampers" the works at the Palace of Versailles
Audio 04:04
Florence Cailleret, manager of works of art at the Palace of Versailles.
© Palace of Versailles / C. Milet
By: Maria Afonso
3 mins
Florence Cailleret, works of art manager, is constantly in contact with the château's collections, intervenes during a loan to another institution, the restoration of a work, a change of presentation, a reorganization of room or works.
It is responsible for the organization, management and supervision of the movement of the collections of the Palace of Versailles both internally and externally.
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“
It's the encounter with the people and the place, I have to admit, that made me opt for Versailles.
After my career took place inside, it could have slanted at one point or another but I stayed there and for the moment I feel very good there.
»
Florence Cailleret, works of art manager, started out studying history then moved on to art history.
She discovered the profession of art manager by doing internships in museums.
At the time, there was no university education.
She entered the Ministry of Culture and the
Palace of Versailles
via competitions but through the technical sector in the trade of installers.
Preparations for moving a work © Maria Afonso
Proximity to works and mobility
She trained in the field, passed other competitions, which led her to the management of works.
For Florence Cailleret, organizing the movement of the château's collections also means being in contact with other professions.
“
We have a closeness to the works, a mobility within the establishment and outside the establishment.
We keep a practical side of the job, of course there is administration.
It is a shared job that allows us to move throughout the establishment.
In all that is preparation, we will work with other directions
: the surveillance, the direction of the communication and the public relations, the direction of the inheritance and the gardens, within the framework of works, before and after the works.
We are far from being at the center but we work with a lot of people and that is also the very positive side of the job.
»
Watch over the collections of the Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles has 3000 rooms.
The works of art department watches over a collection of 84,069 works, including 6,207 paintings.
There are also 7,452 pieces of furniture and 8,745 works of art, not to mention the 3,741 sculptures exhibited inside or outside.
Florence Cailleret reveals the methods for hanging a painting indoors.
“
At the beginning, we made these clashes at the spirit level but here the floors are not straight between north and south, east and west.
The low paneling looks straight because usually it's straight, but if you take a spirit level, it's not going to be straight: the line of the ceiling, the line of the low paneling, the line of the floor are not going to be parallel and you add the frames of the paintings which are not necessarily square, because they have their age too.
We use the tape measure and the spirit level, but afterwards there is an adjustment that is done by eye and it is the curators who have the final choice.
»
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