The new stained glass windows of Notre-Dame de Paris entrusted to the painter Claire Tabouret

At the end of a the French painter Claire Tabouret, 43 years old, was chosen to create the contemporary stained glass windows of Notre-Dame de Paris, associated with the Reims glass workshop Simon-Marq. “The President of the Republic and the Archbishop of Paris, consulted, gave a favorable opinion on this choice”, announced, Wednesday December 18, the Elysée and the diocese of Paris, emphasizing “the very high quality of the projects” candidates auditioned.

Desired by Emmanuel Macron and Mgr Laurent Ulrich, who want to leave a contemporary mark in the cathedral devastated by a fire in 2019 and completely restored, these new stained glass windows must replace at the end of 2026 six of the seven bays of the south aisle of Notre-Dame (side Seine) by the 19th century architect^e century Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.

The press release highlights “the very high artistic quality of the proposal and its architectural insertion – particularly its adequacy with the stained glass window representing the tree of Jesse (1864), present in one of the chapels on the same aisle of the nave, which will remain in place “ as well as “respect for the figurative program chosen by the diocese of Paris relating to Pentecost”.

A year and a half of completion

From the award of the contract by the public establishment responsible for rebuilding Notre-Dame, six months of study are planned and around a year and a half of completion, specify the Elysée and the diocese.

Eight artists, each associated with a glass workshop, were selected among the finalist candidates for the design of these stained glass windows following the launch of a call for applications in April, to which 110 teams applied. Among them, Jean-Michel Alberola, Daniel Buren, Yan Pei-Ming, Gérard Traquandi, Claire Tabouret, Christine Safa, Flavie Serrière Vincent-Petit and Philippe Parreno, who ultimately withdrew due to his workload, according to the press release.

After removing a “test panel”all candidates took a major oral exam as part of the selection process. An artistic committee made up of 20 members – heritage curators, artists, members of the diocese of Paris, the public establishment responsible for the reconstruction project and the Ministry of Culture – was tasked by the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati with select.

Number of heritage defenders behind a petition (nearly 245,000 signatures to date), launched by the site’s owner The Art Tribune Didier Rykner, are opposed to the project, the original stained glass windows concerned having not been damaged by the fire.