Summary
- Claire Tabouret premieres her window designs for the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris
- The full-scale models are now on view at Grand Palais through March 15, with behind-the-scenes, preparatory materials
French artist Claire Tabouret debuted her stained-glass window designs for the Notre-Dame cathedral. The full-scale, ink-on-paper maquettes will be on view at Paris’ Grand Palais as part of her new solo exhibition, In a Single Breath. Alongside the full-scale models, the exhibition will feature sketches and additional preparatory works for the windows, evoking the atmosphere of the storied atelier, Simon-Marq, where the windows are currently being produced.
Her designs will fill six bays along the south aisle of the nave, replacing monochrome 19th-century windows commissioned by architects Eugène Viollet-le-Duc and Jean-Baptiste Lassus. Since the original windows were not damaged in the 2019 fire, the new commissions have sparked debate amongst historians and preservationists, who argue that the change challenges heritage guidelines.
“Every time there is a new artistic intervention in a historic part of Paris, there is a controversy, and it’s interesting to be part of that history,” Tabouret told the Art Newspaper in response. “Change should be made with caution, and this project is very cautious, very gentle, harmonious.”
The Los Angeles-based artist, who has seen a meteoric rise into art stardom through the last decade, was selected as the winner of a competition hosted by the Ministry of Culture competition in December 2024. Over 100 participating artists were tasked to submit contemporary redesigns of the windows for the given brief: the story of the Pentecost when the Holy Spirit appeared at a large gathering and filled each soul. “I’m not religious, but it is a story about community and celebration,” Tabouret expressed.
Nodding to Viollet-le-Duc’s original ornamentation, while introducing expressive figurations of disciples and rich, verdant scenes, Tabouret’s designs open a new chapter for the cathedral, rooted in cross-era dialogue. The French institution has also published a corresponding catalog, which furthers into the artist’s process behind the windows.
In a Single Breath is now on view in Paris through March 15.
Grand Palais
25 Avenue du Général Eisenhower,
75008 Paris
