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- 1. Alfred Gérente (1821-1868)
Under the direction of Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1869)
Stained glass window from the Saint-Eloi chapel, 1865
(first chapel of the right aisle)
Threatened with being removed and replaced by a contemporary stained glass window
Photo: Janericloebe (Public domain) - See the image in its page
11/7/24 - Heritage - Paris, Notre-Dame - The French political situation and the political weakening, whatever the government to come, of Emmanuel Macron, has freed the Ministry of Culture from the diktats coming from the Élysée Palace. His plan to replace Viollet-le-Duc’s stained glass windows with contemporary ones (see articles), which we strongly opposed with a petition that has so far attracted over 147,700 signatures, has just been rejected by the National Commission for Heritage and Architecture (CNPA). The Commission, which was not due to be consulted until November after the winner had been chosen, has taken up the issue and is demanding to be consulted quickly. And the result of the session, which met late this morning, is unambiguous: it was a unanimous rejection by all those who voted. The civil servants, who had been instructed to support the replacement of the stained glass windows, were authorised by the Heritage Department not to take part in the vote, which is tantamount to opposition on the part of this usually cautious administration.
Of course, the CNPA, whose role is to advise the Minister of Culture (who we don’t know who he will be in a few days’ time), only has an advisory opinion. But for a subject that unites so much opposition, including the Ministry’s own staff, it is hard to imagine how the President of the Republic, who no doubt has other things to worry about, could persist in his undertaking, even if anything is possible on his part.
Once again, for those who are confused, we are not opposed to contemporary stained glass windows in old monuments, on two conditions: that they do not replace existing stained glass windows, and that they show respect for the building in which they are installed.
Just today, as the commission was rejecting the project for stained glass windows in Notre-Dame, we visited the treasury of Chartres cathedral in the Saint-Piat chapel behind the apse before it reopened on 21 September. The chapter house on the ground floor, where the fragments of the rood screen are now on display, and where the windows were closed with white glass, has been fitted with stained glass windows commissioned, after a competition, from the Korean artist Bang Hai Ja (who died in September 2022). They are both beautiful and in perfect harmony with the hall.
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- 2. Bang Hai Ja (1937-1922) et Atelier Peters de Paderborne
Vitraux
Chartres, cathédrale Notre-Dame, salle capitulaire de la chapelle Saint-Piat
Photo : Didier Rykner - See the image in its page
We know nothing about the second condition for Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, as no project has yet been chosen. But the first is enough to disqualify such a project, since as we have already written on many occasions, the stained glass windows designed by Viollet-le-Duc still exist, were not damaged by the fire, and have even since been restored. As long as this project is not abandoned, we must continue to oppose it, and to do this it is not too late to continue to sign the petition.