France debates if Notre Dame should get new glass windows amid restoration

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When a fire raged through Notre-Dame Cathedral in 2019, it didn’t destroy the structure’s stained-glass windows, which were created by the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc in 1859. Last month, however, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed replacing them with contemporary designs.

Spirited backlash followed, with critics arguing that the change would disrupt the “architectural unity” of the famous landmark. Now, more than 125,000 people have signed a petition against the new windows’ installation.

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Just how faithful the restorations should be to historic designs has been a matter of debate ever since the fire. In the aftermath of the disaster, Macron suggested replacing Notre-Dame’s iconic spire (also designed by Viollet-le-Duc) with a modern version to symbolize the cathedral’s endurance. That idea was swiftly shut down. Workers eventually replaced the spire with a design that was identical to the original.

Didier Rykner, the founder and editor of La Tribune de l’Art, has a suggestion of his own: He thinks that the updated stained-glass windows should be added to Notre-Dame’s north tower, which currently has regular windows rather than stained glass.

Replacing the north tower windows would “enrich the cathedral” and have “magnificent symbolic” value, writes Rykner in the magazine. “It was in the north tower, when they fought the fire that threatened to bring down the bells and, in turn, the cathedral, that the firefighters risked their lives to save the monument.”

The reconstructed cathedral is scheduled to reopen on December 8, 2024.

Source - https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/plans-to-replace-notre-dames-stained-glass-windows-spark-backlash-180983541/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_term=182024&utm_content=new 

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The pixelated window at Cologne Cathedral (Germany) is an example of a contemporary stained-glass design ->>

[PartySick 172,524]

4 minutes ago, FfFfFfFF said:

The pixelated window at Cologne Cathedral (Germany) is an example of a contemporary stained-glass design ->>

What the minecraft texture glitch is this

[Juanlittlem 49,429]

11 minutes ago, FfFfFfFF said:

The pixelated window at Cologne Cathedral (Germany) is an example of a contemporary stained-glass design ->>

Giving color blind test to me

[theARTVampire 3,800]

I would like new stained-glass windows portraying the fire and it's rebuilding. Maybe illustrated with a phoenix rising from the ashes

[bionic 50,111]

politicians are obsessed with destroying cultural history

[aphrodisease 231]

I just can't stand how heritage preservation these days always seems hell-bent on wiping out anything modern. Back in the 19th century, when Viollet-le-Duc jazzed up the cathedral and built the spire, he added his own flair to the history of the monument. Why can't we showcase the work of all the folks who pitched in to rebuild Notre-Dame?

[TaylorSwift 162,430]

[HermioneT 1,998]

Historically, cathedrals and churches have been often ongoing projects for many years, sometimes even hundreds of years and different epochs. Consequently one can see sometimes different architecture styles and features in a single building mixed together which makes churches crawling so interesting for me. Therefore, I think it woud be great to add some modern features on some windows while still conserving the old stained glass windows. Or maybe one could insert some parts into the old glass windows that refer to the event which made the restauration necessary, the fire. 

[Debithius 6,056]

No keep the original. Lets not...

[StarstruckIllusion 53,564]

1 hour ago, FfFfFfFF said:

The pixelated window at Cologne Cathedral (Germany) is an example of a contemporary stained-glass design ->>

This is cute, but a major downgrade for the notre dame…

[Ayesha Erotica 1,924]

imo, Original is best & the way it shall continue to be!

@FfFfFfFF the Cologne cathedral pixelated glass looks like a 90s retro game to me.

A reddit user writes "that it looks like a corrupted low-res texture." and it feels like that

 

And by the way, people visit Paris exactly because it is old and gothic and NOT post-modern, if we wanted to visit sth. modern, we'd go to London or any other replaceable major global city. The Parisians do not understand that the new skyscrapers being built at the fringes of the city, are destroying Paris' charme.

[River 127,404]

[LaLa 19,898]

I mean I think keeping the originals (if they weren't destroyed, no reason to remove them!) and also adding contemporary designs to the north tower as suggested is a great idea. 

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Article on the the restoration of 13th century windows from April 2023: https://www.sorbonne-universite.fr/en/news/stained-glass-windows-notre-dame-regain-their-light