It was the French artist Claire Tabouret who created contemporary stained glass windows for Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral in the six chapels on the south aisle of the nave. The announcement made by the Élysée on Wednesday December 17 highlights a renowned young painter who is also a sculptor and designer.
She was born in 1981 in Pertuis, in the south of France. The painter made the Fine Arts in Paris. Since 2015, she has been based in Los Angeles, United States. “His work has been acquired by major collections and important museums, both in France and in the United States and China”specifies the press release from the Élysée. His works are present in the collections by François Pinault and were exhibited at the Palazzo Grassi, in Venice, in 2014.
The artist explores “strongly the theme of memory based on archive images, photographs or childhood memories”, can we read on the page dedicated to it on the Pinault Collection website. “An aura of mystery surrounds his figures and places his works in the genre of history painting. The subjects and landscapes represented, characterized by an enigmatic atmosphere, seem timeless and weave an ambiguous dialogue between the work and the viewer “.
His work has evolved greatly in recent years. “For a long time, I painted people I didn’t know, she confided last summer to France 3 Ile-de-France. “I found photos that inspired me to represent situations that interested me especially in a psychological and autobiographical way. Being inspired by life, the outside world, those around me is quite recent for me. It also changed the way I paint. The colors are more vivid, and the light more distinct, more garish. There is something more alive.”
About her new project, Claire Tabouret believes that “the opportunity to put (one’s) art at the service of unity through the theme of Pentecost is a magnificent outstretched hand” In “an era like ours marked by wars, divisions and extreme tensions. She explains her vision in the Élysée press release. “I considered the visitor’s path as a deeply personal and spiritual journey through Notre-Dame, explains the artist. It seems essential to me to create stained glass windows which will have the right presence, will accompany this movement in space and will act as visual support for the interior journey, but without imposing themselves on visitors.”
On “an area of 121 m2 on the 2 500 m2 of glass roofs from the Middle Ages to the 20th century of the cathedral”, she will execute a work which caught the attention of President Macron and the Archbishop of Paris, Mgr. Ulrich, notably for “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”. Furthermore, he respects “(the) figurative program chosen by the diocese of Paris relating to Pentecost”. The creation will be carried out in the workshops of master glassmaker Simon-Marq. Founded in 1640, the workshop has collaborated with artists like Marc Chagall and Joan Miró.
