On April 15, 2019, a violent fire ravaged the heart of Notre Dame, the cathedral of Paris for nearly 850 years, an icon of French heritage and the most visited monument in Europe. The wooden frame, largely erected in the 13th century, and the spire, built by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century, were destroyed, and part of the vaults collapsed in their fall. In early 2020, the public establishment commissioned the chief architects of historical monuments responsible for the monument a study for the restoration of the cathedral. The resulting project proposed to restore identically the parts missing in the fire and to do it with its original materials. When the work is completed in 2024, the cathedral will have recovered its exterior architecture along with the beauty of its newly cleaned and restored interior spaces.
The fire caused irreparable losses, but the construction work that followed has provided a unique opportunity to immerse oneself in the cathedral's history and unveil its hitherto inaccessible secrets. Notre Dame tells a monumental story spanning nearly 850 years at the heart of a collective history as it is, since its construction in the 12th century, one of the manifest buildings of Gothic art. The construction of the present cathedral was begun in the 12th century by Maurice de Sully, Bishop of Paris, and completed some 150 years later, at the beginning of the 14th century. The monument considerably modified the landscape of the Île de la Cité, at a time when Paris was establishing itself as the capital of the kingdom.
The fire caused irreparable losses, but the construction work that followed has provided a unique opportunity to immerse oneself in the cathedral's history and unveil its hitherto inaccessible secrets. Notre Dame tells a monumental story spanning nearly 850 years at the heart of a collective history as it is, since its construction in the 12th century, one of the manifest buildings of Gothic art. The construction of the present cathedral was begun in the 12th century by Maurice de Sully, Bishop of Paris, and completed some 150 years later, at the beginning of the 14th century. The monument considerably modified the landscape of the Île de la Cité, at a time when Paris was establishing itself as the capital of the kingdom.
Restoration project for the western façade of Notre-Dame de Paris, 1843 by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, Jean-Baptiste Lassus.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the cathedral was in ruins because the French Revolution had caused numerous destructions. The statues of kings that adorned the façade had all but disappeared, and the treasury and metal statuary were melted down. The medieval spire was also dismantled, although not with destructive intent, but because it was in danger of collapsing. A few years later, in 1831, Victor Hugo published his novel Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre-Dame), presenting the cathedral as the heroine, martyred by time and men.
In 1843, the winners of the competition for the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris were two architects passionate about the Middle Ages and committed to heritage conservation: Jean-Baptiste Lassus and Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. The restoration took 20 years and involved all parts of the building, from the structural works to the decorative elements and the gold and silver objects in the treasury. The architect's notes, drawings, and sketches show his tireless curiosity about the monument and the secrets of its design. Viollet-le-Duc wanted to respect the work of the craftsmen of the Middle Ages, and the restoration work served to revive a taste for certain techniques that had fallen into disuse.
View of the cathedral Notre-Dame, around 1860. Photograph by Charles Marville.
The spire of Notre Dame was a great challenge for Viollet-le-Duc. In his proposal for the competition, he drew a relatively simple spire, close to the 13th-century spire known for its unusual iconography. However, when it came to its construction, he took certain liberties concerning the historical rigor that had prevailed, the current spire being more slender, more richly decorated, and adorned with sculptures of the twelve apostles and the four evangelists, which are pure inventions.
The restoration of Notre Dame de Paris requires the intervention of professionals in many branches of craftsmanship and heritage, as well as very sophisticated knowledge in a wide range of specialized fields. This work mobilized master masons, carpenters, roofers, and ornamentalists, and was followed by work on the nave and choir. At the height of the restoration, nearly a thousand people contributed their talents and skills to the Île de la Cité and throughout France to restore Notre Dame.
The Viollet-le-Duc's spire and the medieval framework of the nave and choir were completely lost in the fire. They are being fully restored to Viollet-le-Duc's design in their original material: oak. As work on the frame progressed, the roofers were able to install the lead roof and the numerous ornaments on the spire. In addition, new fire protection devices are being installed in the reconstructed attic to prevent another fire. The sculptures of the apostles and evangelists are the last vestiges of the Viollet-le-Duc spire, as they had been removed for restoration at the time of the fire and were saved.
The Viollet-le-Duc's spire and the medieval framework of the nave and choir were completely lost in the fire. They are being fully restored to Viollet-le-Duc's design in their original material: oak. As work on the frame progressed, the roofers were able to install the lead roof and the numerous ornaments on the spire. In addition, new fire protection devices are being installed in the reconstructed attic to prevent another fire. The sculptures of the apostles and evangelists are the last vestiges of the Viollet-le-Duc spire, as they had been removed for restoration at the time of the fire and were saved.
Notre-Dame de Paris. From builders to restorers. Photograph by David Bordes.
Notre Dame has about 3,000 square meters of stained glass, from different periods and styles. Although they were barely touched by the flames themselves, they had suffered, not only the inevitable negative effects of time but also the consequences of the fire, in particular the accumulation of dust and dirt. The restoration of the upper sections and the cleaning of the stained glass windows that have not been removed will give the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris a luminosity that it has not had for decades.
The cathedral of Paris housed 22 paintings, including 13 Mays, large format paintings commissioned by the goldsmiths' guild of Paris, which gave a painting to Notre Dame every May 1st. Seventy-three Mays were painted between 1630 and 1707 by the great French painters of the time. In the hours after the fire, these works were placed in a shelter outside the cathedral awaiting restoration and will return to their places once completed.
Composed of 115 stops and 8,000 pipes, the great organ of the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral is one of the largest in Europe. Saved by flames and water, it was heavily covered with dust during the fire and required a thorough cleaning. The great organ will be reassembled and tuned in early 2024, this operation will last six months and will take place at night, as tuning requires total silence.
