Co-sponsored by the Center for European Studies, Medieval Studies Program, Anonymous Fund, the Jay and Ruth Halls Visiting Scholar Fund, the Robert F. and Jean E. Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies, the Religious Studies Program, the Digital Studies Program, and the Departments of Art, Art History, and History.
On April 15, 2019, a terrible fire destroyed the spire and roof of Notre-Dame de Paris. Over the last five years, it has been restored thanks to a unique combination of cutting-edge technology and historical knowledge, including the expertise of artisans working in traditional trades. The new spire and roof largely replicate was lost. Does this add to or detract from the authenticity of the monument? This will no-doubt be the subject of debate once the cathedral reopens this coming December. This talk will examine how historicity, modern technologies, and public/political expectations have shaped the authenticity of the current Notre-Dame restoration.
Jennifer M. Feltman is associate professor of Medieval Art and Architecture at the University of Alabama. Her research focuses on French Gothic architecture and sculpture. She is a member of the Chantier scientifique de Notre-Dame, a team of scientists and historians authorized by the French Ministry of Culture to study the fire-ravaged cathedral as it is being restored. As part of her contribution to new research on Notre-Dame, she is directing, “Notre-Dame in Color,” a project to investigate, document, and virtually recreate the vibrantly painted sculptures of the Gothic Cathedral of Paris. This work is supported by the FACE Foundation – Transatlantic Research Partnership, a program of the French Embassy in the United States, a 3-year National Endowment for the Humanities Collaborative Research Grant, and the UA Collaborative Arts Initiative. She publishes widely on Gothic architecture and sculpture. Her books include the volume of essays The North Transept of Reims Cathedral: Design, Construction, and Visual Programs (Routledge, 2016), The Long Lives of Medieval Art and Architecture (Routledge, 2019), co-edited with Sarah Thompson, and Moral Theology and the Cathedral: Sculptural Programs of the Last Judgment in France, c.1200-1240, which is forthcoming from Brepols.
