Fidelity to the legacy of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc — the architect who reshaped Notre Dame Cathedral in the 19th century — is crystallizing much of the dissension surrounding the restoration of France’s famed religious monument, which was severely damaged by a 2019 fire. 

In the wake of the international controversy over the restoration of the iconic spire destroyed by the fire, which President Emmanuel Macron wanted to replace with a contemporary design, the recent news that the “Crown of Light” — a grand neo-Gothic chandelier designed by Viollet-le-Duc — will not be returning to the cathedral for its reopening next December has sparked renewed outrage among heritage defenders. 

“The archbishop of Paris has refused the return of the crown of light ... currently on deposit at the Saint-Denis Basilica, where it hangs above the altar,” Philippe Villeneuve, France’s chief architect of historic monuments who has been overseeing Notre Dame since 2013, said in an Aug. 18 interview with La Tribune.

The chandelier was originally located in the transept crossing of Notre Dame and was accompanied by 12 smaller chandeliers, a set designed by Viollet-le-Duc specifically for the cathedral in the 1850s. On the occasion of cleaning and restoration work in 2014, the crown was moved to the Basilica of Saint-Denis on the outskirts of Paris. 

 

Viollet-le-Duc’s ‘Progressive Erasure?’

This announcement of concern by the chief architect of historic monuments triggered the wrath of several art experts, starting with Didier Rykner, founder of the magazine Tribune de l’Art,  whose caustic wit has earned him the nickname of “heritage sheriff” in the international press.

In a recent editorial, he accused Paris’ Catholic clergy of collectively pursuing a “progressive erasure of Viollet-le-Duc’s contribution” to the city’s cathedral. Citing a personal exchange he had with Villeneuve, Rykner asserted that a project to reinstall the lighting fixtures was proposed for the cathedral’s post-fire restoration. “The idea was to reinstate the ‘Crown of Light’ at the transept crossing, eight chandeliers in the nave and four in the choir, according to Viollet-le-Duc’s original layout,” Rykner reported, adding that Villeneuve had confirmed to him that Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris “did not want this ‘Crown of Light,’ nor the return of the chandeliers in the nave.” 

Contacted by the Register, the Paris Archdiocese denied these allegations, citing instead “scientific and technical decisions by state services in September 2021.” 

In fact, as the archdiocese is only the lessee of the state-owned building, its formal authority is limited to Notre Dame’s religious furniture. All the rest of the structure falls within the jurisdiction of the state.

Emma Rinaldi, head of communications for the archdiocese, recalled that the 12 chandeliers had been moved to the side arches of the nave as early as 1903, after the building was electrified. She said that this had “liberated the purity of the Gothic vault” and that the “Crown of Light,” isolated afterward, “was as if taken out of its frame.”

She added that an agreement between the diocese and state authorities on keeping the crown at Saint-Denis had already been reached before Archbishop Ulrich’s arrival in Paris in 2022 and that he had “simply acknowledged this.” 

A similar response was sent by the diocese to Tribune de l’Art, without convincing its editors or Philippe Villeneuve, who told the journal that “these reasons don’t stand up, since the Bourges cathedral has a crown of light in its own choir, as well as chandeliers in the nave, without this in any way detracting from the liturgy or the purity of the Gothic vault.”

 

Letting Each Era Contribute

This chandelier controversy is far from isolated. It’s part of an extended series of tussles between heritage circles and both the archdiocese and French President Emmanuel Macron’s government, which have often joined together in the desire to introduce contemporary elements into the rebuilding of Notre Dame. 

Last December, the French president, backed by Archbishop Ulrich, announced his intention to replace a series of Viollet-le-Duc’s stained-glass windows with contemporary figurative works, even though they remained intact after the 2019 fire. Some viewed this project as a form of revenge by the supporters of a contemporary architectural replacement for the emblematic spire designed by the same architect, after their request went unheeded. 

Opponents of the new stained-glass window project, who initiated two petitions that gathered more than 150,000 signatures, fear a break with the coherent medieval ensemble created by Viollet-le-Duc. These fears were further fueled by the resolutely contemporary look of the cathedral’s new liturgical furnishings, unveiled in summer 2023. 

Last June, a new controversy sparked by the announcement of new organist appointments for Notre Dame that sidelined two of the cathedral’s long-serving musicians reinforced the idea among some that the diocese was attempting to break free from the weight of tradition. 

The archdiocese rejects that interpretation.

“There is in no way any desire to break with the past,” Rinaldi clarified in an email exchange with the Register, pointing out that since the cathedral’s construction in the 12th century, each era had made its contribution to the edifice, including through controversial decisions.

“Each artistic contribution has in its time aroused the support of some and the rejection of others, precisely because it is art,” she said. “But let’s not forget that some contributions, even recent ones, have become inseparable from the cathedral and interact harmoniously with older works of art, such as Marc Couturier’s Cross and Golden Glory, which shone behind the 1723 Pietà in the aftermath of the fire, sending a tremendous sign of hope to Catholics and the world, and which actually dates back to 1993!” 

Turning to the stained-glass windows, Rinaldi pointed out that only 8% of the cathedral’s stained-glass windows date back to the Middle Ages, with the rest dating from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, citing as an example Jacques Le Chevallier’s windows, installed in the 1960s. “The Archbishop’s wish, shared by the President of the Republic, is that these windows should follow in the great tradition of figurative Christian stained glass on the theme of Pentecost — replacing stained-glass windows with abstract designs dating from the 19th century.” 

The project, however, has just been unanimously rejected by the National Commission for Heritage and Architecture, which has only a consultative role but nonetheless has dealt a significant additional blow to its legitimacy.

“I’m ardently in favor of contemporary art, artistic commissions, the art of my time, but I do not want contemporary art to take the place of the old,” said Catholic art historian Pierre Téqui, in an Aug. 23 social-media post that argued for additions that don’t detract from the past. “We don’t want our cultural expression of today to take the place of yesterdays, but to add to it,” he wrote, regretting that the archdiocese “doesn’t follow this path.” 

 

Paris Olympic Bell 

This extended series of controversies has not, however, slowed the pace of the cathedral’s restoration work, timed to ensure its reopening for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on Dec. 8. Notre Dame recently recovered its spire, oak framework and most of its lead roofing, all of which were destroyed in the fire.

And it will soon be entrusted with the Paris 2024 Olympic Games bell, one of the greatest symbols of the event that winning athletes rang out at the end of their competitions. Made by the Normandy foundry Cornille Havard, which also founded and restored the cathedral’s eight other bells, this Olympic bronze is set to have a lifespan of over 150 years. For Paul Bergamo, the director of the 160-year-old craftsman’s workshop, offering it to Notre Dame was a way of giving it “a beautiful second life,” Europe1 reported.

After the monument’s long-awaited reopening, restoration work will continue on the sacristy and its flying buttresses for several more years, starting in 2025.