From 1935, the "stained glass dispute" of Notre-Dame at the heart of a unique exhibition in Troyes

"No! Please no modern stained glass windows at Notre-Dame!" headlined the newspaper l'Époque. "Provocation and threat," added Le Figaro.

In the line of sight: figurative stained glass windows, inspired by the artistic avant-gardes of the early 1935th century (Picasso, Mondrian, Delaunay, etc.) and designed in 12 by XNUMX renowned master glassmakers, including a woman, Valentine Reyre, to replace the colorless ones, which they considered "too dull", by the XNUMXth century architect Eugène Viollet-Le-Duc.

Called "grisailles" and faithful to traditional techniques, they received "a mixed reception in their time", a century earlier, explains Julia Boyon, scientific curator of the exhibition with Marie-Hélène Didier of the cultural affairs department of Île-de-France.

survivors

Survivors of history and for some of the 2019 fire which ravaged the cathedral where they were stored, around fifteen of these monumental stained glass windows from the 30s are on display until March at the Cité du Vitrail, in a chapel where natural light magnifies their vibrant colours.

Alongside them, models, sketches, painted cardboards and archival documents (plans, photographs, press articles, etc.) illustrate the virulence of the debates which continued until 1965.

"It was one of the first milestones in the debate around the inclusion of contemporary works of art in an old building. It mobilized a very large number of heritage stakeholders, the press and public opinion of the time," says Ms. Boyon.

"The supporters of the project then praise the know-how of the most renowned master glassmakers, praise the depiction of full-length, colourful characters, reminiscent of medieval tradition, and the idea that each century must bring something to the building," she adds.

A cardinal, author of a "modern iconographic program", calls for "spiritual renewal through contemporary creations" and the painter Maurice Denis publishes a column of support in the press.

Fear of a precedent

The detractors, "fewer in number but more virulent, castigate the lack of harmony of the whole, some speaking of cacophony". For them, modern stained glass windows should be reserved for contemporary churches. They also fear creating a precedent that would open the way to an unreasonable spread of contemporary works in old buildings, underlines Anne-Claire Garbe, curator at the Cité du Vitrail and general commissioner.

Presented at the 1937 International Exhibition, the contemporary stained glass project was rejected several times by the historic monuments commission, which finally adopted it in January 1939.

It was the Second World War that would finally bury it. The stained glass windows would then be taken down to be protected, hidden in the free zone or disappear.

Only Jacques Le Chevallier (1896-1987), author in 1937 of a version of the creed on eternal life exhibited in Troyes, was entrusted with the commission for an abstract composition which was integrated into the cathedral in 1965 with the support of André Malraux, then Minister of Culture, which remained in place until the fire of April 15, 2019.

As the work on the reconstruction of Notre-Dame draws to a close, eight pairs of artists and master glassmakers, including Daniel Buren in association with the Vincent-Petit factory in Troyes, have been selected to replace stained glass windows created by Viollet-le-Duc in six chapels on the south aisle of the nave, on the Seine side, by 2026.

Initiated by President Emmanuel Macron, and supported by the Archbishop of Paris, Mgr Laurent Ulrich, this project, which must be figurative and whose common thread must be the tree of Jesse (a frequent motif in Christian art, which schematically represents the family tree of Jesus, editor's note), received an unfavorable opinion from the National Commission for Heritage and Architecture, which remains advisory.

A situation reminiscent of the old quarrel, underlines Ms. Garbe.

"With the big difference," she emphasizes, "that there is now an international charter prohibiting in principle the replacement of existing works by new creations." This charter is not, however, binding.