Notre Dame Cathedral: Evolution and Viollet-le-Duc Restoration

The construction of Notre Dame Cathedral, a process that spanned centuries, involved continuous renovation and adaptation. The initial campaign from 1225 to 1250 saw the erection of the northern and southern towers of the west facade, along with the high gallery known as the Gallery of Kings.

Early Renovations and Architectural Changes

Cathedrals are dynamic structures, and Notre Dame underwent renovations even before its initial completion. Early in its construction, the flying buttresses of the nave were originally double-type, with a lower flyer positioned beneath the tribune roofs. This differed from the choir's reinforcing wall, which aligned too far beneath the springing of the high vault arches.

Between 1225 and 1230, these buttresses were altered. This change involved increasing the size of the upper windows and lowering the roof angle of the tribunes, leading to the replacement of double flyers with single ones. This architectural evolution was confirmed by the archaeological observations of Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, a renowned renovator of French cathedrals. He discovered traces of five-spoke rose windows at the tribune level, which were later enlarged into elongated lancet windows. This change is evident when comparing the window arrangements of the transept crossing and the nave, with the lancet and ocular arrangement predating 1225 and a different arrangement appearing after that year.

In the 13th century, chapels were constructed between the contraforts (reinforcing vertical piers) of the nave, opening onto the ambulatory. The original spire was added, and gargoyles made their first appearance in the 1230s. It's important to note that these early gargoyles were not the elaborate, fantastical figures designed by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century. The exact function of gargoyles remains a mystery; whether they were intended to ward off evil spirits or intimidate worshippers is unknown, but they have consistently fascinated observers, as seen in structures like Yale's Harkness Tower, built in the 1920s.

Jean Ravy, master architect of Notre Dame from 1318 to 1344, completed the radiating chapels, tribune windows, and single flying buttresses on the northern side.

Transformations Through the Centuries

Notre Dame continued to evolve. In the 17th century, Louis XIV ordered the interior of the choir to be faced with marble neoclassical columns, a change depicted in David's "Coronation of Napoleon."

The late 18th and early 19th centuries marked a period of significant transformation and destruction for French cathedrals. Jacques-Germain Soufflot, architect of the Pantheon, was instructed by the government to enlarge Notre Dame's main entrance. To achieve this, he destroyed the trumeau, the central post in the west facade's main door, to accommodate large public processions. This alteration changed the appearance of the central entrance from its pre-1771 state.

The French Revolution of 1789 brought widespread destruction and pillaging. The statues in the Gallery of Old Testament Kings and Prophets on the west facade were mistakenly identified as French monarchs and removed, along with the original jamb statues flanking the doors. Some of these statues have since been recovered, with the latest discovery in 1977 during an excavation for a bank building in northern Paris. These recovered artifacts are now housed in Paris's Museum of the Middle Ages (Cluny Museum). The revolution also saw the sacking of Notre Dame's interior, resulting in the loss of many objects, including the choir screen. The Revolution of 1830 led to further pillaging, notably the burning of the sacristy.

Viollet-le-Duc's Restoration

The most significant transformation of Notre Dame occurred during the restoration undertaken by Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc between 1843 and the late 1850s. His aim was to restore the cathedral to its perceived medieval or original state.

Viollet-le-Duc rebuilt the flying buttresses, restored statuary on the facade, added new gargoyles, and replaced stained glass. He removed neoclassical elements from the interior and reconstructed the roof, particularly the gutter system, and the spire. Recognizing that medieval cathedrals were often painted internally, Viollet-le-Duc developed a series of polychrome patterns for his restoration.

Viollet-le-Duc was known for leaving his personal mark on his restoration projects. He depicted himself as one of the apostles on the roof, holding an architect's square. On the north entrance of the west facade, he cast himself in the role of Adam in a depiction at the base of the trumeau, where the Virgin holds the child in a scene of the Fall.

The Return to the Middle Ages

Viollet-le-Duc's restoration of Notre Dame was part of a broader resurgence of interest in the Middle Ages following the French Revolution of 1789. The revolution had been detrimental to both the French monarchy's association with the classical past and the neoclassical aspirations of the Ancien Régime, as well as the medieval alliance between church and crown.

Between 1789 and 1793, revolutionaries sacked and pillaged France's cathedrals, leading to a decade of neglect and disrepair for churches in the early 19th century. However, the restoration of the monarchy after Napoleon I's exile in 1815 sparked a renewed interest in the Middle Ages. This was part of a larger wave of nationalism and a focus on indigenous history, which included the discovery of medieval architectural, historical, and literary monuments, along with medieval languages and texts.

The next exploration will delve into the varied and intricate sculptural programs on the exterior of Notre Dame in Paris.