The Notre-Dame Cathedral in Art (1460–1921)
"Notre-Dame Cathedral is the very soul of Paris but so much more—it is a touchstone for all that is the best about the world, and a monument to the highest aspirations of artistic achievement that transcends religion and time. It has survived so much—from the French Revolution to Nazi occupation—to watch its devastation is excruciating.” – Barbara Drake Boehm, Paul and Jill Ruddock, Senior Curator for The Met Cloisters.
Like many around the world, we were so sad and shocked to see the Notre-Dame burning — to witness such history in flames. But also relieved to learn now that so much was saved, including the main structure and many of its stunning stained-glass windows. We spent the day yesterday picking out highlights from the many centuries of artworks to feature the iconic building — from its illuminated punctuation of medieval skylines to grainy detailed studies at the birth of photography. We are presenting them here in rough chronological order, which we hope gives a sense of how this magnificent building — more than eight centuries old — has inspired and outlasted so many epochs and lives and, thanks to the dedication of another generation of craftspeople, will continue to do so.
 | Source | Various |
 | Underlying Work Rights | Various |
| Digital Copy Rights | Various – see source links. | |
 | Download | Right click on image, or see source for higher res versions. |
The Right Hand of God Protecting the Faithful against the Demons, from the 'Hours of Étienne Chevalier', by Jean Fouquet, ca. 1460 — Source.
Arrival to Paris of the young duke Louis II d'Anjouand his mother Marie de Blois. Miniature from Chroniques de Jean Froissart, Bruges, ca. 1475 — Source.
Notre-Dame-de-Paris, dans Pontifical romain aux armes de Jean II de Mauléon, évêque de Saint-Bertrand-de Comminges, BnF, Ms. Latin 1226-2, by Noël Bellemare, ca. 1525 — Source.
Portrait of Queen Marie Thérèse of France, as patron of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, by Charles Beaubrun and Henri Beaubrun the younger, ca. 1670 — Source.
Vüe de l'intérieur de l'Eglise Cathédrale de notre Dame de Paris, artist unknown, 1670 — Source.
Funeral of the Grand Condé, a drawing by Jean Berain Frenc, ca. 1687 — Source.
Plan of the choir, by Pierre Lepautre, 1715 — Source.
Coronation of Emperor Napoleon I and Coronation of the Empress Josephine in Notre-Dame de Paris, December 2, 1804, a painting by Jacques-Louis David and Georges Rouget, 1805–7 — Source.
Rose Window on the southern façade (the original, before it was reworked 20 years later by Viollet-le-Duc) , a photograph by Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey, 1841 — Source.
The Portal of the Virgin, a photograph by Joseph Philibert Girault de Prangey, 1841 — Source.
Plan for the Renovation of a Chapel in the Nave of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, by Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus, 1843 — Source.
Saint-Ãtienne portal, a photography by Hippolyte Bayard, 1847 — Source.
Regarding One of the Gargoyles of Nôtre-Dame de Paris, a drawing by Charles Méryon, 1853 — Source.
The Vampire, an etching by Charles Méryon, 1853 — Source.
Notre-Dame, a waxed paper negative and salted paper print by Charles Nègre, ca. 1853 — Source.
The Vampire, a photograph by Charles Nègre, 1853 — Source.
Saint-Michel bridge, a photograph by Auguste-Hippolyte Collard, 1857 — Source.
View of spire, roof with statuary, and cityscape beyond, photograph by Charles Marville, ca. 1860 — Source.
Notre-Dame, photograph by Édouard Baldus, 1860 — Source.
Nôtre Dame, a painting by Félix_Bracquemond, 1870 — Source.
Wall paintings of the chapels of Notre-Dame de Paris: executed on the boards of E. Viollet-Le-Duc recorded by Maurice Ouradou, 1870 — Source.
Wall paintings of the chapels of Notre-Dame de Paris: executed on the boards of E. Viollet-Le-Duc recorded by Maurice Ouradou, 1870 — Source.
Gargoyle at Notre Dame, unknown photographer, ca. 1870 — Source.
Access portal of Notre Dame, unknown photographer, ca. 1870 — Source.
Unknown photographer, ca. 1870 — Source.
Gargoyles, Notre Dame, a photograph by Adolphe Giraudon, ca. 1875 — Source.
The comet Donati over Paris on 4th October 1858, from 'Le ciel' by Amédée Guillemin, 1877 — Source.
Notre-Dame de Paris, a painting by Luc-Olivier Merson, ca. 1881 — Source.
Door portal of Notre Dame, unknown photographer, ca. 1875-1900 — Source.
Gargolyes, unknown photographer, ca. 1875-1900 — Source.
The Bohemian, a painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1890 — Source.
Notre Dame, and St. Michael bridge, ca. 1890 — Source.
Notre Dame, interior, coloured photograph, ca. 1895 — Source.
Notre-Dame de Paris, by W. T. Horton and featured in his A Book of Images, 1898 — Source.
Notre Dame at twilight, a painting by Charles Guilloux, ca. 1898 — Source.
Discovery of the Lutèce enclosure, update of the surrounding wall. Photo taken from the minutes of the Municipal Commission of Old Paris, January 28, 1898 — Source.
Stones from the restoration executed at Notre-Dame church by Viollet-le-Duc, by Commission Municipale du Vieux Paris, 1898 — Source.
Notre Dame, an etching by Donald Shaw MacLaughlan, 1900 — Source.
Unknown photographer, ca. 1900 — Source.
The Quai Saint-Michel and Notre-Dame, a painting by
A Glimpse of Notre Dame in the Late Afternoon, a painting by Henri Matisse, 1902 — Source.
Interior, a photograph by William Henry Goodyear, 1903 — Source.
Detail from the Last Judgement portal, a photograph by Eugène Atget, ca. 1905 — Source.
Notre Dame, a painting by Sylvius D. Paoletti, 1907 — Source.
Notre-Dame Floods, a painting by Albert_Marquet, 1910 — Source.
Notre Dame, a painting by Paul Signac, 1910 — Source.
Unknown photographer, ca. 1910 — Source.
Unknown photographer, ca. 1915 — Source.
Notre Dame, a painting by Jean-Pierre Beckius, 1921 — Source.
Apr 16, 2019
