A nineteenth-century grotesque at Notre Dame de Paris. Photo by Sharon Mollerus via Flickr [Creative Commons].Today’s grotesque is a true classic. The gargoyles of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris are neither the oldest nor the most interesting of their kind, but they have certainly become the most famous. The interior and exterior of this church, which was a major milestone in the history of Gothic architecture, were both rather creatively restored by Gothic Revival proponent Eugene Viollet-Le-Duc (1814-1879) in the nineteenth century. Part of the restoration process included the creation of many new gargoyles and grotesques, so many of the building’s most iconic creatures, including this one, aren’t truly medieval. That hasn’t stopped them from capturing popular imagination through photographs, literature, and other popular culture.
Alexandra Kiely, aka A Scholarly Skater, is an art historian based in the northeastern United States. She loves wandering down the dark and dusty corners of art history and wholeheartedly believes in visual art's ability to enrich every person's life.
Her favorite periods of art history are 19th-century American painting and medieval European art and architecture. When she not looking at, reading about, writing about, or teaching art, she's probably ice dancing or reading.
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A Scholarly Skater 
Reminds me of The Wizard of Oz monkeys…