the Versailles of Buenos Aires that shines again

Matías Errázuriz, charge d’affaires of Chile in Buenos Aires, and Josefina de Alvear, Argentine lady with distinguished lineagethey married in 1897 and had two children, whom they baptized with their same names.

On September 18, 1918, with a great celebration, The family inaugurated their new mansionlocated on Avenida del Libertador at 1900, where the National Museum of Decorative Art (MNAD) operates today.

There they deployed a valuable collection that they had obtained during their previous stay in Europe, which included everything from Roman sculptures to paintings from the 16th to 19th centuries.

The residence was designed by René Sergent under the influence of French neoclassicismand it had several rooms, which have been recovered over the last thirty years.

“We are a team formed a long time ago and the goal has always been to recover the House Museum. We started restoring many of the rooms below to show what the uses and customs of that time were like. And we were recovering everything. In 2010, Matías’s bedroom was built, on the first floor. And the Empire bedroom, which was the first donation the Museum received, since we did not have the original furniture. The Ocampo family made it,” they tell Viva Hugo Pontoriero, curator of the MNAD and next director, and the restaurateurs Graciela Razé and Mariana Astesiano.

They explain: “There are already more than ten rooms built. We wanted to recover the Errázuriz Palace, which is a national artistic historical monument, the maximum heritage classification that a building can have. It is like returning to the state of the monument in its splendor of 1918.”

The future director of the Museum and his team say that in 1994 they began the facade and the garden. Approximately two years later they continued through the Desk on the ground floor, Matías Errázuriz’s area of ​​study and work.

In the tour of this level of the MNAD (founded in 1937, a year after having been purchased by the national State), you can also see other spaces where the Errázuriz spent their dayssuch as the dining room, the ballroom, and Madame’s parlor.

The first was inspired by the majestic Hall of Hercules from the Palace of Versailles in Paris and had a large table for twenty-four guests.

The other two were exclusive to Josefina de Alvear. On the ground floor, you can also access what was the Hall of the residence, from where you can see the gallery with access to the four apartments of the family.

The Hall is the largest of all the rooms and the only one with double height, allowing you to appreciate its features at a glance. five patinated bronze spiders and a wide variety of furniture.

With the ground floor almost complete, one of the biggest challenges in recent years has been recover the upper floor of the mansionnormally reserved for the privacy of the family.

Four departments were located there, one for each member. Matías Errázuriz’s was in the center of the building. Her son’s was on the south façade, near the main staircase.

On the other side were the apartments of Josefina mother and Josefina daughter, overlooking the French garden. Although all these spaces opened onto a gallery above the Hall, they had secondary doors that allowed private circulation.

For example, the couple’s rooms each had a door, through which they accessed the Pompeian baththe internal link between both departments.

The bathroom is divided into two areas. “The one with the dry, wooden floor was the dressing room. And the one with the wet marble floor was the water room, which also It functioned as a hall of mirrors.“, describes Hugo Pontoriero, while deploying a mirror screen and covering a window to transform the bathroom into a space with 360º mirrors. Of course, those who visit the museum can observe this experience up close.

“The bathroom is Directory style, which is the transition between the Louis XVI style and the Empire style. In other words, the Errázuriz family took up the consecrated architecture of the french old regime”, explains the future director of the MNAD.

As for the dome of the Pompeian bath, the restorers point out that its shape is traditional, made of plaster, and has a internal wooden structure with vegetable fibers. To restore it, as it was in poor condition and painted over, the template was copied from the little that had remained intact of the original.

“Of the rest, of what had been a product of humidity, only salts remained. In other words, what was done was desalination, after the original material that remained was fixed and then it could be recomposed. We had a part of the original drawing and that was copied and transferred to the rest,” the professionals detail.

And they add: “The performance we obtained was quite good. Almost 70 percent.” The bathtub and its taps are originaljust like the floors.

Currently, the Museum is working on Josefina de Alvear’s room, which is not yet open to the public.

His team of professionals gave him access to Viva to show a preview of what can be visited once the restoration is complete.

“The bedroom is Louis XVI style and the most important thing is bird embroidery on furniturewhich also evoke the aesthetics of Marie Antoinette,” says Pontoriero.

And he assures that it was “a very private room.” A particular detail of this space: it used to house a portrait of Diego de Alvear, Josefina de Alvear’s father, painted by Joaquín de Sorolla, which was removed by family succession after the death of the lady of the house, in June 1935.

Yes, the backrest and foot of the bed where Josefina de Alvear slept could be recovered (and can be seen after the inauguration).

“The bed had a canopy with curtains that had to be reconstructed based on the original plans. Her fabric was bought in 1918 in Paris and we are going to buy it again to reupholster because it is very deteriorated. We are going to buy the same silk, the same model, in the same house where the Errázuriz’s bought,” says Pontoriero.

Regarding the renovation of the room, the restaurateurs indicate that they are first evaluating “which things are original and which are attached.” There are some deterioration in parts of the plasterwork and the cornice, and the team discussed whether the walls had been covered, until they discovered that they had only been painted.

It was during the stay of the National Museum of Oriental Art (MNAO) that they covered the entire bedroom from top to bottom and therefore a lot was preserved. “Now what we have to do is ‘unrestorate’,” the specialists explain. And they add: “Furniture is a big challenge. “We are trying to see what the original technique was and if it supports a cleaning system.”

On the other hand, the professionals reveal a key secret when it comes to recovering an atmosphere that has been there for so many years: “The idea is not to replace anything but to rescue the original as much as possible. Because perhaps you look at a fragment and see spots there, but in the general context it is quite good, balanced. You have to see too the balance of the restoration. When you paint, the eyes go by themselves to where the defect is. That is why we have to find a balance in the furniture.”

Behind a double door, Josefina de Alvear He had an oratory that was close to his bed. Its original Louis XV style carved and gilded wood kneeler is still preserved. And, next to the room, Matías Errázuriz’s wife had one of her favorite places in the house: the boudoir.

“He boudoir (dressing table) is in the Louis XV style and its furniture, from the Jansen house in Paris. It had tapestries that we are going to put back up. We are working with historical inventories from the founding of the Museum, from the year 1936 exactly. That takes us to original state of the rooms”, comments Pontoriero.

In the future, and as a last resort, the objective is to carry out the restoration of the apartment of Josefina Errázuriz Alvearin the Louis XVI style and also with Jansen furniture.

Once the total renovation of the spaces of the Errázuriz Palace where the National Museum of Oriental Art operated from 1965 to 2023 is completed, they will be able to be exhibited to the public a greater number of objects of high heritage value.

Of course, to continue with all these repairs, it is essential to get sponsors. “Have private patrons to finance the project. Some of them are Andrés Rosarios, an architect who helps us from Paris to bring the fabrics for Josefina de Alvear’s bed, and Felipe de la Balze, who financed one of the salons together with the national State,” says Pontoriero.

Another measure that will surely be carried out and will help raise funds is that of start charging entry to foreigners. “There is a project for all national museums. It is something that we do not decide,” she clarifies.

And he concludes: “What was for a few and very exclusive becomes something for everyone. There is a virtuous circle that closes and that seems very healing to me.”