Seven tapestries designed by contemporary Spanish artists Miquel Barceló and British artist Michael Armitage for the chapels of Notre-Dame de Paris will be produced by specialized French factories, we learned on Friday 15 November 2024 with the Mobilier national. Both artists were selected “by a committee of qualified people“, specifies Hervé Lemoine, president of Mobilier national, heir to the royal furniture repository.
The hand weaving of these tapestries will be carried out by the factories of Gobelins, Beauvais and a private workshop in Aubusson, historic centers of this art in France, very present in cathedrals and at Notre-Dame until the 18th century. century. He will take “five or six ans“, he clarified.
In the meantime, Notre-Dame will benefit from its reopening on the 7th and 8th December of a “exceptional loan” tapestries by great painters of the 20th century century : Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, Zao Wou-ki, Pierre Buraglio, Mario Prassinos and Jean Bazaine, added Mr. Lemoine.
After the fire which ravaged the cathedral in 2019, “we made the proposal for a new cycle of contemporary tapestries for the north side chapels dedicated to the evocation of the Old Testament and it was accepted“, he rejoiced.
Miquel Barceló, born in 1957, is a multidisciplinary artist, both abstract and conceptual, who explores decomposition, light and new materials such as volcanic ash or sediments. It is notably exhibited at the Center Pompidou and the Louvre.
Michael Armitage, born in 1984 in Nairobi (Kenya), is known for his works which address themes of identity and contemporary African society. Deeply influenced by the realities of East Africa, he mixes traditional Kenyan patterns and textures with contemporary compositions. He exhibits in major contemporary art institutions around the world, including at MoMA in New York.
The mission of National Furniture is in particular to perpetuate the know-how of French public decorative arts manufacturers through contemporary creation on behalf of national collections and the development of official places of the Republic. In this project, it is associated with the archbishopric of Paris, the rector-archpriest of Notre-Dame and the Revoir Notre-Dame de Paris association.
