Built in 1160 and mostly completed by 1260, the cathedral is believed to have undergone many alterations over the following centuries. In the 1790s, Notre Dame experienced desecration during the French Revolution, with most of its religious paintings damaged or destroyed, and soon after the publication of Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1831, there was a renewed public interest in the building. In 1845 a major restoration of the building began under the direction of Eugène Vallet-le-Duc and lasted twenty-five years. Beginning in 1963, the cathedral's facade was cleaned of soot and dirt that had accumulated over it several centuries ago, and returned to its original color. Another campaign for cleaning and restoration took place from 1991 to 2000.