Visiting the construction site of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral this Friday, December 8, Emmanuel Macron spoke about the stained glass windows of the cathedral which must be replaced.
The stained glass windows of Notre-Dame de Paris will indeed be replaced by contemporary works. The wish expressed by the Archbishop of Paris, Mgr Laurent Ulrich, to install new stained glass windows in place of those dating from the 19th century and used by the French architect Viollet-le-Duc was heard by Emmanuel Macron. The Head of State announced, during his visit to the cathedral construction site precisely one year before its reopening, that a competition would be organized to find the future stained glass windows for the cathedral.
This competition should be aimed at contemporary artists who will be able to submit a figurative work which will then be examined by a jury. The selected work will be the subject of a commission and will replace six stained glass windows in the south side chapel of the cathedral. Thanks to these stained glass windows, “the century which is ours will have its place among several others which appear in the works of this cathedral” declared the president.
The creation of a museum of the work of the cathedral
Emmanuel Macron also announced the validation of another project put forward by the Archbishop of Paris: that of creating a museum of the work of the cathedral. The 19th century stained glass windows will be preserved there, as will the cock of the spire which fell during the fire. The creation of this museum of the work of Notre-Dame de Paris and the Hôtel-Dieu aims to retrace the history of these buildings in order to understand it and to immortalize the renovation project of Notre-Dame de Paris after the fire of 2019. The objective is also to highlight the artistic heritage of these places and to pay tribute to the famous and anonymous artists who participated in the construction and renovation of the cathedral. This museum will be created in the premises of the Hôtel-Dieu on the Île de la Cité.