The experts will give their verdict in the middle of the day, after a closed-door debate.
The diocese wants to take advantage of the restoration of the Gothic cathedral, whose roof collapsed after a raging fire on April 19, 2019, to carry out a total renovation, before its reopening in 2024.
Notre-Dame de Paris is one of the most visited monuments in France, with about 12 million tourists every year.
The fire, fortuitous according to the official investigation, not only shocked public opinion in the country, but the entire world.
Those responsible for the renovation contacted leading figures of contemporary design, such as Ernest Pignon-Ernest, known for his street furniture, or artists such as Anselm Kiefer or Louise Bourgeois.
His proposals would coexist with the works of the great masters who adorned the Parisian cathedral over the centuries, such as the Le Nain brothers or Charles Le Brun, the newspaper Le Monde reported. Information that was confirmed to AFP by the Ministry of Culture, which “is not opposed at all” to this type of operation.
Among the proposals, benches with wheels or a system of lights at eye level, as well as the light projection of phrases from the Bible in various languages on the walls of the nave.
Notre-Dame de Paris was built over two centuries, and suffered several fires throughout its history. Its current appearance is largely due to a major restoration carried out in the 19th century by an architect, Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, who was also responsible for similar operations throughout the country.
“Let us respect the work of Viollet-le-Duc, let us respect the work of the artists and artisans who fought to offer us this jewel,” these intellectuals explained.
The current modernization proposal navigates “between trifles and vulgarity”, those voices criticize.
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc was responsible for the design of the Notre-Dame spire, inaugurated in 1859 and which collapsed during the fire.
Interior restoration doesn’t just address furniture. The central nave, from the entrance to the choir, will be refined to give more space to tourists and faithful, and the fourteen chapels that surround it will be thoroughly cleaned.
Every year Notre-Dame hosts 2,400 religious services and about 150 concerts.
The cleaning of the chapels will allow us to rediscover the huge paintings with biblical motifs that were commissioned by the goldsmiths’ guild from great artists of the time, between 1630 and 1707, and which were blackened by the fire.
Canon Gilles Drouin, head of the renovation project, insists that the objective is to “better welcome” the public without forgetting “respect for religious worship.”
Source From: Ambito
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