Notre Dame’s plans for contemporary stained-glass windows spark cries of ‘vandalism’ in Paris

2023-12-26T14:53:00-05:00

Plans for the contemporary replacement of some of the stained glass windows inside Notre Dame Cathedral’s damaged interior have sparked a considerable outcry from the public a year before the Parisian landmark is set to begin reopening in the wake of the destructive 2019 fire.

Calls for a new competition to design windows for six of Notre Dame’s seven south aisle side chapels has led to a petition signed by 120,000 people urging the French government to reconsider on grounds that they would distort the originality of architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc’s 19th-century expansion, according to a report from The Guardian.

The new window designs would replace what emerged from the catastrophe undamaged and are therefore considered important relics of the blaze by heritage experts and other conservation specialists. Nevertheless, the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, requested the French state’s approval of new windows, a solicitation President Emmanuel Macron then threw his office’s suppo...

Stained Glass Faces Dark Days

2014-12-26T16:23:00-05:00

But church architects and experts say modern churches rely more on video and photo slideshows, which they say connect with attendees more than the static imagery of stained glass.

Timothy W. Martin examines the state of the stained-glass industry.

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Notre Dame’s plans for contemporary stained-glass windows spark cries of ‘vandalism’ in Paris

Stained Glass Faces Dark Days