On November 21, the “artistic commission” created by the Ministry of Culture met to choose the artist who should – if everything goes wrong – create new stained glass windows for Notre-Dame Cathedral. They would replace those designed by Viollet-le-Duc, although they were classified as historic monuments, spared from the fire and restored with donor money.
The most absolute secrecy currently reigns over the name of the one who would have been chosen. Not only because the President of the Republic, who decided on this replacement with the complicity of the Archbishop of Paris Monseigneur Ulrich, undoubtedly does not want the controversy to spoil the celebration of the reopening of the building. But also because the operation does not seem simple.
According to our information, the projects of the eight candidates [1] didn't really convince, and none really stood out. While a vote took place, with everyone having to indicate their favorite project, it appears there was no clear winner. The result of the deliberations was therefore handed over to the Archbishop of Paris, and the members of the committee were told that matters were now in the hands of the prelate.
We suspected that the committee was not really a decision-maker, since the first choice it had made, to select the finalists among the 83 projects, i.e. six candidates, had already been defeated. The artist Pascal Convert having finally given up, only five artists should have remained in the running. But three names were arbitrarily added to the list designated by the committee, including Daniel Buren, who we know is the President of the Republic's favorite. The press release from the Ministry of Culture was indeed very clear on this subject: “ After taking into account the opinion of the Artistic Committee chaired by Mr. Bernard Blistène, the applications selected for the second phase are as follows: “. Suffice it to say that the committee only has an advisory role.
The final choice will in reality be that of Emmanuel Macron, theoretically validated by Laurent Ulrich. And it won't necessarily be easy. The President of the Republic wants Buren, probably still believing he is in the 80s and thus doing disruptive work. It is likely that the archbishop was more inclined to select a more figurative project (even assuming that Buren's could be). Everything is therefore still possible, and no one knows, except perhaps the President of the Republic, when the winner of this rigged competition will be announced.
- 1. Visit of Emmanuel Macron to Notre-Dame on November 29, 2024.
You can see in the background on the left the stained glass window of the chapel
Sainte-Geneviève which is one of those to be replaced
Screenshot of the video of the visit
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See the image on his page
- 2. Stained glass window in the Sainte-Geneviève chapel (image taken from the technical and heritage specifications of the competition)
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See the image on his page
What is certain is that today's visit of the President of the Republic to the restored cathedral, and the video which was broadcast, shows to what extent these Viollet-le-Duc stained glass windows are perfectly adapted at the cathedral. Even if the screenshots we publish here (ill. 1 and 3) are not completely representative of their quality (the image is a little blurry, and the colors are faded), we can clearly see that the light they distill is very beautiful, Viollet-le-Duc having carefully measured its effects. We publish alongside the two illustrations the photos of the corresponding stained glass windows (ill. 2 et 4).
The first visitors to the monument will be able to admire these restored stained glass windows, and it will be very difficult to convince that they need to be changed, at great expense (remember that the total cost will be between 3 and 4 million).
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- 3. Visit of Emmanuel Macron to Notre-Dame on November 29, 2024.
We can see in the background on the left a detail of the stained glass window of the chapel
Saint-Pierre who is one of those to be replaced.
Screenshot of the video of the visit
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See the image on his page
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- 4. Stained glass window in the Saint-Pierre chapel (image taken from the technical and heritage specifications of the competition)
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See the image on his page
We therefore invite our readers who have not done so to sign the petition so that this charade stops. The stained glass windows of Viollet-le-Duc must remain in place. And if necessary, the Sites & Monuments association will take the matter to court.
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