Author Topic: Gargoyles, stained glass and the spire: How Notre-Dame was restored  (Read 2132 times)

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Offline mountaineer

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Gargoyles, stained glass and the spire: How Notre-Dame was restored
Hugh Schofield
BBC
Nov. 29, 2024
Quote
French President Emmanuel Macron has toured Paris's Notre-Dame cathedral live on TV, giving the public a first look inside the building since much of it was destroyed or damaged in a huge fire in 2019.

From the spire to the stained glass, it has been completely transformed. It is not just a renovation after the fire, but a complete overhaul including removing decades of crud and soot built up since the last restoration.

Here we take a look at some of the key features of the repair work and how it was achieved.   ...

The most striking feature of the renovated cathedral is the luminosity of the stonework. This is because all the limestone blocks have been cleaned, or in some parts replaced.

Replacement stone was sourced in quarries in northern France. Experts were able to detect tiny features in the original stone – like certain fossils – that helped them to determine the geographical origin.

The vast majority of the masonry was undamaged, but it was covered not just in age-old accretions of dust and dirt from the past, but also in a layer of soot and lead powder from the fire. It was cleaned with high-power vacuums, and then with a spray which peeled off to remove the dirt. ...
Lots of interesting before-and-after pics in this article: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0qdj80py3no
The abnormal is not the normal just because it is prevalent.
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Offline mountaineer

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The abnormal is not the normal just because it is prevalent.
Roger Kimball, in a talk at Hillsdale College, 1/29/25

Offline Kamaji

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Re: Gargoyles, stained glass and the spire: How Notre-Dame was restored
« Reply #2 on: November 29, 2024, 02:13:07 pm »
Wow.

Offline mountaineer

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Re: Gargoyles, stained glass and the spire: How Notre-Dame was restored
« Reply #3 on: November 29, 2024, 02:22:48 pm »
The abnormal is not the normal just because it is prevalent.
Roger Kimball, in a talk at Hillsdale College, 1/29/25

Online Fishrrman

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Re: Gargoyles, stained glass and the spire: How Notre-Dame was restored
« Reply #4 on: November 29, 2024, 05:10:29 pm »
Considering this was accomplished in 5 years suggests that at least someone in France still "has it all together".

Beautiful restoration, it probably looks better than it has in 200-300 years...

Online rustynail

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Re: Gargoyles, stained glass and the spire: How Notre-Dame was restored
« Reply #5 on: November 29, 2024, 05:13:10 pm »
How long till it is burnt to the ground or turned into a mosque?

Offline berdie

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Re: Gargoyles, stained glass and the spire: How Notre-Dame was restored
« Reply #6 on: November 29, 2024, 06:41:18 pm »
I have a replica of a gargoyle that was supposedly on the roof of the cathedral  It's not scary...just pensive. Bebo or something like that. I have yet to read if it made it thru the fire.

The pictures of the restoration are amazing.

Offline mountaineer

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Re: Gargoyles, stained glass and the spire: How Notre-Dame was restored
« Reply #7 on: November 29, 2024, 06:43:53 pm »
I think the BBC article cited in my original post talks about the gargoyles.
The abnormal is not the normal just because it is prevalent.
Roger Kimball, in a talk at Hillsdale College, 1/29/25

Offline berdie

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Re: Gargoyles, stained glass and the spire: How Notre-Dame was restored
« Reply #8 on: November 29, 2024, 06:54:08 pm »
I think the BBC article cited in my original post talks about the gargoyles.


It does, but not that particular one that wasn't on the sides of the roof. It was on the roof itself. :laugh: Given that the roof evidently collapsed it may not have made it thru the fire.

Offline mountaineer

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Re: Gargoyles, stained glass and the spire: How Notre-Dame was restored
« Reply #9 on: November 29, 2024, 06:59:50 pm »
It does, but not that particular one that wasn't on the sides of the roof. It was on the roof itself. :laugh: Given that the roof evidently collapsed it may not have made it thru the fire.
Yes, not sure what they did about parts that were utterly destroyed. They may have replicated some, but the gargoyles certainly were unique.
The abnormal is not the normal just because it is prevalent.
Roger Kimball, in a talk at Hillsdale College, 1/29/25

Offline mountaineer

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Re: Gargoyles, stained glass and the spire: How Notre-Dame was restored
« Reply #10 on: December 03, 2024, 07:22:10 am »


I predict Macron will, like Justin "Fidelito" Trudeau, kiss Trump's ring.
The abnormal is not the normal just because it is prevalent.
Roger Kimball, in a talk at Hillsdale College, 1/29/25

Offline verga

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Offline Gefn

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Re: Gargoyles, stained glass and the spire: How Notre-Dame was restored
« Reply #12 on: December 03, 2024, 12:54:10 pm »
so glad it's restored. Such a beautiful church. And the. gargoyles were amazing.

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Offline rangerrebew

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Re: Gargoyles, stained glass and the spire: How Notre-Dame was restored
« Reply #13 on: December 06, 2024, 12:47:07 pm »

ON NOW • LIVE
Preparations underway ahead of the official reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral

https://abcnews.go.com/live/video/special-live-07/
The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth.  George Washington - Farewell Address

Offline rangerrebew

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Re: Gargoyles, stained glass and the spire: How Notre-Dame was restored
« Reply #14 on: December 06, 2024, 12:48:32 pm »
Won't Muslims be invited as honored guests to show there are no hard feelings for burning it down to being with? :whistle:
The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth.  George Washington - Farewell Address

Offline goatprairie

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Re: Gargoyles, stained glass and the spire: How Notre-Dame was restored
« Reply #15 on: December 06, 2024, 10:22:55 pm »
When the wife and I visited Paris about six or seven years ago, a big disappointment was not getting to see the cathedral. We saw the wreck from a few blocks away. That's as close as we could get.

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The abnormal is not the normal just because it is prevalent.
Roger Kimball, in a talk at Hillsdale College, 1/29/25

Offline mountaineer

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The abnormal is not the normal just because it is prevalent.
Roger Kimball, in a talk at Hillsdale College, 1/29/25