Plans to modernize Notre Dame’s stained glass windows go ahead despite rejection by heritage experts

Windows in Notre-Dame, 2024

Stained glass windows in Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on April 11, 2024

Mathilde Bellenger / AFP via Getty Images

Despite strong counter-reactionFrench President Emmanuel Macron is pushing ahead with plans to replace Notre-Dame Cathedral’s historic stained glass windows with contemporary designs. The windows that need to be replaced are not originals from the 12th century. They were created in the 19th century by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc as part of a restoration project for the cathedral.

In July, experts from France National Commission for Heritage and Architecture (CNPA) unanimously rejected the proposal to modernize the windows. Nevertheless, the French Ministry of Culture has done so announced eight finalists to design new stained glass for six chapels on the south aisle of the cathedral ship.

The artists must submit their work no later than November 4, after which a committee chaired by Bernard Blistèneformer director of the Musée National d’Art Modernechooses the winning design. Macron and Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich will then announce the winner in time for the cathedral’s grand reopening in December. The cathedral has been closed since 2019, when a major fire destroyed parts of it. Restoration work on Notre-Dame after the fire is still progressing eight bronze bells of the tower reinstalled this week.

Finalists for the window designs include Jean Michel Alberola, Daniel Buren, Philippe Parreno, Yan Pei Ming, Christine Safa, Claire Tabouret, Gerard Traquandi And Flavie Vincent-Petit. The list is composed of more than 100 different artistic and glass production teams.

Macron first shared plans to replace the windows of Notre Dame at the end of last year. According to the Art newspaper‘S Vincent Noce, some experts and historians believe that the new plan goes against the spirit of the Venice Charter from 1964. The charter stipulates that “objects of sculpture, painting or decoration forming an integral part of a monument may be removed only if this is the only means of guaranteeing their preservation,” and “the valid contributions of all periods to the construction of a monument must be respected.”

In light of the committee’s words, finalist Pascal conversion withdrew his offer of the competition this summer.

Notre-Dame is one of two major Parisian monuments in the spotlight this month for controversial new additions. The city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, announced plans to make the Olympic rings on the Eiffel Tower, which were added for this year’s games, a permanent addition to the monument.

In July, Blistène seemed hopeful about Notre-Dame’s window designs LaCroix‘s Sabine Gignoux. He told it LaCroix“We’ll see if the public is convinced once the winner has been chosen.”

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