The plans for the new interior of the cathedral badly damaged in the fire of 2019, which were presented by the Paris archdiocese, were divisive. What do you think about it?
The minimalist and modern style of the new liturgical equipment strives for "noble simplicity", but it has provoked criticism from art experts and Catholic observers.
As originally announced, the cathedral will reopen on December 8, 2024. Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris has now revealed the names of the two candidates who have been selected to create the new liturgical furnishings - which include the altar, tabernacle, bishop's throne, pulpit (ambo) and baptismal font, as well as chairs for the faithful.
Photo: Guillaume Bardet, Ionna Vautrin and Sylvain Dubuisson
This decision, which was made public on June 23, was reached after two consultation phases launched in October and January of last year, at the end of which the archdiocese's art committee selected the designs of five artists from among 69 applications.
The Archbishop of Paris called on the applicants to strive for "noble simplicity" in their artistic expression and requested that "the presented objects respect the place, its history and the strong symbolism of its mission over the centuries". At the same time, respect "the spirit of the Catholic liturgy, II. In accordance with the reports and norms established after the Vatican Council".
The sculptor and designer Guillaume Bardet, who is well known for his Last Supper-themed installation in the Dominican monastery of Sainte-Marie-de-La-Tourette in 2017, designed by the modernist architect Le Corbusier, was commissioned to create the five main elements of the liturgical equipment in dark bronze.
Photo: Guillaume Bardet, Ionna Vautrin and Sylvain Dubuisson
Striving for coherence
This choice of materials contrasts with the rest of the monument, which is all stone and stained glass, but Archbishop Ulrich sees the chosen project as part of a "coherent" whole, in which the individual pieces "fit together well," as he wrote in the introduction to the presentation's press release. Indeed, the High Priest wished for a unified whole, as the liturgical objects destroyed or damaged in the 2019 fire were designed by different artists in different styles.
The archdiocese also indicated that one of the most prominent elements of the new project is the decision to place the baptismal font near the portal of the Last Judgment, at the entrance of the cathedral, to "open a gate to the mystery of Christ." The main altar, with its widening, curved geometric form, will be placed at the intersection of the main nave and the transept, "like a stone taken out of the ground for sacrificial presentation, which offers itself as a fraternal table for the Lord's Supper."
Ionna Vautrin was commissioned to design the chairs intended for the faithful - a total of 1,500 pieces. They are made of solid oak with openwork backs and are designed to be joined together.
The new reliquary containing the crown of thorns will be created by the artist Sylvain Dubuisson, who was already selected by the archbishop without a prior call for tenders. The large size of the reliquary is justified by the intention to make it more visible and for the faithful to lay their hands on it, as the rector of the cathedral, Monsignor Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, said .
The total cost of the new furnishings, financed by the Fondation Notre-Dame, is estimated at €6 million.
Photo: Guillaume Bardet, Ionna Vautrin and Sylvain Dubuisson
Too distracted?
These plans replace a first project that was leaked to the press back in 2021, which was eventually scrapped due to a lot of controversy due to its overly modern style.
However, the new version has not yet won the unanimous approval of experts and the Catholic faithful. Some of the press considered it a rather bold and unifying project, but Catholic commentators often disparaged the style of the new furnishings, judging it either as "a 1970s Ikea design unworthy of the cathedral's builders", or as a reference to "Adams family furniture", or perhaps as "the epitome of the decadence of the French Church".
Photo: Guillaume Bardet, Ionna Vautrin and Sylvain Dubuisson
The Famille chrétienne c. in his opinion article published in a weekly newspaper, the art historian Pierre Téqui expressed his astonishment at the fact that he encounters abstraction everywhere in today's church works, and this "constantly raises questions among Catholics who are taught about the Incarnation".
"By constantly relegating the artistic dimension to the background, we sink into functionalism. Is the Church afraid of artists?"
he asked the question.
The plans still need final approval from the French National Commission for Architecture and Heritage Protection, which is expected by July 13.
Translated by SJ
Source: zarandok.ma / ncregister.com
