A modern stained glass project in Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, supported by Emmanuel Macron, has created controversy. They could replace those of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, installed in 1864.
This Friday, November 29, the public will discover the interior of the restored Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral during a television broadcast on France 2 in Paris at 9:30 a.m. Emmanuel Macron will be present for the last site visit. This is his seventh visit since the fire of April 15, 2019.
The President of the Republic will find in the nave 1,300 people who worked on the “construction site of the century”. He will be accompanied by the Archbishop of Paris Mgr Laurent Ulrich and the president of the public establishment for the restoration of Notre-Dame, Philippe Jost. Despite the emotion of the event, the stained glass windows of the cathedral continue to fuel controversy.
Contemporary stained glass windows? An “absurd” idea
While Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral will reopen its doors on December 7, six contemporary stained glass windows pose a problem. Or rather, six new stained glass windows, supposed to replace thoseby Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, installed in 1864. If the original stained glass windows are intact, Emmanuel Macron and the Archbishop of Paris, Monseigneur Ulrich, wanted to bring a touch of modernity with new contemporary stained glass windows to keep a trace of the 21st century in the rich history of the cathedral. So far, eight artists have been pre-selected by competition. A decision that does not please everyone. Art historian Didier Rykner finds the idea “absurd”.
“It’s not against contemporary stained glass windows, it’s against the idea of replacing existing stained glass windows, which are classified as historic monuments, with stained glass windows which may be good or perhaps not good, it doesn’t matter. is not possible, these stained glass windows are very large, they have a surface area of 120 m2. So, they will go to the cash register, let’s be clear,” he complains in the columns of RFI. He even launched an online petition to try to preserve the stained glass windows, which has so far collected 200,000 signatures.
The National Commission for Heritage and Architecture had spoken out against the installation of these new stained glass windows. Several associations are even ready to go further, and in particular to take legal action, as Sites and Monuments. Still speaking to RFI, the historian and writer Camille Pascal conversely sees the initiative to include contemporary art in such a work as an opportunity: “That we can, from time to time, leave room to the expression of contemporary French art, it absolutely does not shock me,” he explains. According to the Elysée Palace, a “word of thanks” will be given by the Head of State at the conclusion of his visit, intended for all the people who contributed to this extraordinary project.