On April 15, 2019, a devastating fire tore through the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, the most beloved and iconic of all Gothic buildings. Largely through the heroic efforts of Paris firefighters, the building was spared the total destruction that at one point seemed inevitable. However, the damage was extensive. Despite early negative forecasts and complications due to the pandemic, the reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris is well underway, and the restored building will look as much like the old one as possible. Almost every year since the fire, I have written something about the cathedral's current condition and the status of the restoration. You can find it all in this post.
Tag: Paris
Visit Parisian Landmarks In These Ten Gorgeous Paintings (DailyArt Magazine)
I've spent the past week looking at paintings of Parisian landmarks to write this article for Dailyartdaily. I loved armchair travelling through the City of Light.
American Art of the Week: Paris La Nuit by Charles Courtney Curran
Charles Courtney Curran, Paris La Nuit (Paris At Night), 1889. Terra Museum of American Art. Photo via the-athenaeum.org. I think there's something quite fascinating about paintings of Europe by American artists. It's interesting to compare how European cities look through American eyes with American scenes and with European artists' representations of the same cities. Does a Frenchman represent Paris differently than… Continue reading American Art of the Week: Paris La Nuit by Charles Courtney Curran
Gargoyle of the Day: Notre Dame de Paris
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… Continue reading Gargoyle of the Day: Notre Dame de Paris
Basilique Royale de Saint-Denis (WordPress Writing 101 Prompt #17)
Today’s prompt didn’t particularly interest me or feel like a good fit for this blog, but the additional challenge was to write in a style different from my usual one, which I liked a lot. I like my writing to flow and include lots of description; I never skimp on the words. Therefore, I decided… Continue reading Basilique Royale de Saint-Denis (WordPress Writing 101 Prompt #17)
Gargoyles & Grotesques: Notre Dame de Paris
This 19th-century grotesque comes from the great Gothic cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris.
The First Bit of My Gargoyle Research
I have started reading the first of the three gargoyle books I got from the library: Holy Terrors: Gargoyles on Medieval Buildings by Janetta Rebold Benton, an art history professor at Pace University. I have only read the introduction so far, but it was lengthy and contained lots of good material, so I thought I… Continue reading The First Bit of My Gargoyle Research
A Grotesque Interlude
While I work on the next installment of my gargoyle project, please enjoy this photograph of some Notre Dame gargoyles. It was taken by fellow scholar and gargoyle lover William Styple, who sent it to me after reading my first gargoyle post. Visit him at bellegrovepublishing.com. In other news, I have just found out… Continue reading A Grotesque Interlude
Gargoyles galore!!!
Instead of sharing my none-too-interesting new paper, I am going to write about one of the things I have been very excited to write about for a long time... gargoyles! You are probably a little disappointed in me right now, because I told you in my last post that my nerdiness has limitations but am… Continue reading Gargoyles galore!!!