[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2251749083.jpg?w=1024″]<\/p>\n
\n\tA Paris judge has rejected a request to halt the removal of six 19th-century stained-glass windows by Eug\u00e8ne Viollet-le-Duc from Notre-Dame Cathedral, which are to be replaced by government-commissioned contemporary works, dealing a blow to the preservationist campaign opposing the project.<\/p>\n
\n\tAccording to the Paris Administrative Court, the administrative judge reasoned that because the new windows by artist Claire Tabouret and glassmakers Simon-Marq could conceivably be removed in the future, and the original Viollet-le-Duc windows will be carefully preserved, the project does not constitute an irreversible alteration to the Gothic landmark. Consequently, the judge continued, the matter does not meet the requirements for an \u201curgent\u201d suspension of the controversial project. However, the judge did not rule on whether the endeavor, once vetoed by the National Commission of Patrimony and Architecture, was legal, leaving the path open for potential litigation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tConceived by French President Emmanuel Macron, the planned modernization of Notre Dame\u2019s windows has sparked intense controversy in France and beyond. Within two days of its announcement in 2024, more than 130,000 people signed a petition supporting the preservation of the 19th-century stained glass installed by architects Eug\u00e8ne Viollet-le-Duc and Jean-Baptiste Lassus, who were commissioned to restore the cathedral in 1844. The towering original windows, whose winding geometric patterns evoke natural forms, survived the 2019 fire that destroyed Notre Dame\u2019s spire and roof. (Macron\u2019s initial proposal for a new contemporary spire also met little support.)<\/p>\n
\n\tNevertheless, an international competition was launched to select a design for the replacement windows, with the stipulation that it be figurative. Claire Tabouret\u2019s proposal, selected from a pool of 110 submissions, depicts a diverse group of worshippers during Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended on Christ\u2019s disciples, rendered in Tabouret\u2019s expressive style and vivid palette. Each window features a background that incorporates elements of Viollet-le-Duc\u2019s original design.<\/p>\n
\n\tAdvocates for the project argue that Notre-Dame de Paris has never been static, but has instead continuously integrated new artistic elements into its fabric since its construction in the Middle Ages. Philippe Jost, who has led the cathedral\u2019s restoration since the 2019 fire, told ARTnews<\/em> that the aim is to add \u201cmeaning\u201d and \u201cbeauty\u201d through the story of Pentecost, while maintaining \u201ccoherence\u201d in this section of the building alongside a nearby figurative window depicting the Tree of Jesse.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tBut as the building is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, governed by the principles of the 1964 Venice Charter, the removal of any major element\u2014especially in the absence of necessity\u2014means that an alteration at this scale was never going to be straightforward. The Sites & Monuments has promised a legal challenge to stop the removal of Eug\u00e8ne Viollet-le-Duc\u2019s windows once the construction permit is officially issued.<\/p>\n \n\tThe group will have to move fast: Bernard Blist\u00e8ne, former director of the Centre Pompidou, who presided over the selection committee for the window commission, said Tabouret and the Atelier Simon Marq are \u201cardently working in Reims to produce the windows,\u201d which should be completed and installed by the end of 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/art-news\/news\/paris-judge-rejects-bid-to-halt-replacement-of-notre-dames-windows-1234786334\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.artnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2251749083.jpg?w=1024″] A Paris judge has rejected a request to halt the removal of six 19th-century stained-glass windows by Eug\u00e8ne Viollet-le-Duc from Notre-Dame Cathedral, which are to be replaced by government-commissioned contemporary works, dealing a blow to the preservationist campaign opposing the project. According to the Paris Administrative Court, the administrative judge reasoned that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,226],"class_list":["post-1946221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-artnews-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1946221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1946221"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1946221\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1946221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1946221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1946221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}