Artwork at Notre…. oh Dame

You likely heard the news that Notre Dame burned yesterday. The images of the cathedral burning are stunning. A beautiful horrible romantic tragedy.

That’s what Dames are made of

Construction of the cathedral began in 1163, and was completed in 1345. The wood used for the framing of the cathedral consisted of 1,300 oak trees, or 2.5 acres of forest. I don’t know how old the trees were when they were cut, but oak trees can live for 400 years. After they were cut and carved into boards and ornaments, these oaks served for up to 850 years. Unfortunately, oakwood burns. So does masonry, which burns and degrades under the intense heat from the oaks.

Over the centuries, Notre Dame became home to many paintings, musical instruments, religious relics (such as the main J’s crown of thorns and some saint’s teeth), and stained glass artworks. The sources I found online said “most” of these artworks had been rescued from the fire, but officials haven’t released which artworks escaped, and which joined the list of martyrs. I did what I could to find Notre Dame related artworks today, but I would appreciate your help filling in the gaps.

Notre Dame?

This is a picture of a Roman fresco inside choir stalls. The photo’s labels said “Notre Dame” but I could find no other images to confirm this is actually in the cathedral. They could have been mislabeled. If you have additional information, please let me know. [image_with_animation image_url=”14311″ alignment=”” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”]

Pipe Organ

The cathedral’s pipe organ dates back to the 18th century and is the largest in France. The organ has five keyboards, 109 stops, and nearly 7,374 pipes. It appears that the pipe organ was lost.

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Stained Glass

The Rose windows are a trio of immense round stained-glass windows over the cathedral’s three main portals that date back to the 13th century. Some of Notre Dame’s stained-glass windows are original medieval artworks, some have had their glass replaced. The massive rose windows are susceptible to heat. The lead that holds the glass together melts, as does the glass itself.

 

Statuary

There were 37 representations of the Virgin Mary inside the cathedral. The most famous of those is a Madonna and child called Our Lady of Paris (The vertical lady with the baby, not the gargoyle).

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Mays

Mays or Petits Mays were a series of paintings in 17th and early 18th century Paris. They were commissioned by the goldsmiths’ guild of Paris to offer to the cathedral in the early days of the month of May. The tradition began in 1630 and one painting was offered each year between then and 1707, with the exception of 1683 and 1694. I was not able to find all the paintings, but I was able to find most. Also, the names change a bit in translation, and at times I wasn’t certain I had the correct painting, so please let me know if you see an error.

” load_in_animation=”none This is what I have for artworks, though I know the list is incomplete, and likely not without errors. If you have additional information, please contribute to this post by using the comments section below.

Thank you.