he visited medieval he visited medieval Romanesque and Gothicsites of architectural importance. It all helpedto refine his interest in architecture, passionfor restoration, and a romantic view of theMiddle Ages.In 1838, he was appointed to a role in whichhe had control over all of the constructionand renovations of buildings belonging to thestate at the Conseil des Bâtiments Civils, andin 1840, at age 26, he won a commission torestore La Madeleine Basilica in Vézeley. Hiswork so impressed Prosper Mérimée, the firstInspector General of Historic Monumentsin France, that he invited Viollet-le-Duc tojoin him on official visits to historic sites thatwere damaged during the French Revolution.The young architect’s historical imaginationdazzled, and Mérimée appointed Viollet-le-Duc as second inspector for the restorationof the jewel box-like royal chapel in Paris –Sainte Chapelle.A few weeks after his 30th birthday, Viollet-le-Duc and a colleague, Jean-Baptiste Lassus,won a coveted commission to restore theGothic cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris whichwas in such a perilous state of neglect thatsome authorities had called for its demolition.The Cathedral was built from 1163 to themid-14th century, and is one of the largestcathedrals in the west, a masterpiece ofGothic art. But the French Revolution, duringwhich religious buildings were attacked, saw itseverely damaged. The spire was dismantled,the statues beheaded, and the treasure looted.Viollet-le-Duc and his team spent 20 yearsrestoring the Cathedral. Some aspects wererestored to the original 13th century style, buthe also made compromises, and introducedfresh elements. A new spire for instance,and gargoyles. They are among the mostrecognisable features of Notre-Dame now,but the spire was in fact how the architectbelieved the original builders would havemade it if they had the technology and theimagination! And the gargoyles were almostall new sculptures. And in fact, they’re notall gargoyles, most are chimaeras, 54 ofthem, monsters, fantastical birds and animals– designed by Viollet-le-Duc and purelydecorative, while gargoyles have a function –a spout for draining water.Though his ideas may seem commonplacetoday, they were revolutionary in his time. “…To restore an edifice is not just to maintain it,repair it or rebuild it,” he wrote, “…but, to reestablishit in a complete state that may neverhave existed before at a particular moment inhistory.” Contrary to the prevailing attitudesduring his lifetime, he felt the exteriorappearance of a building should reflect itsinterior structurePraise aside, Viollet-le-Duc had hisdetractors. Artist Auguste Rodin said hiswork was “tasteless”, while Victorian writerand art historian John Ruskin thought hewas destroying the past by replacing it withinauthentic window dressing. Viollet-le-Duc’svision and wisdom have withstood the test oftime and have anchored our images of Franceinto the collective unconscious.So, when Notre-Dame was almost destroyedby fire in 2019, it was the overwhelmingchoice of the people that Viollet-le-Duc’sThe spire, called laflèche (arrow) in Frenchis back: David Bordes© Rebâtir Notre-Damede Parisappears to beobserving the city of Parisbelow © Wazim Photosversion be restored – including the 315 feettall spire. When President Emmanuel Macronannounced that the Cathedral would berestored to be ‘even more beautiful’ with aninternational contest for the design of a newspire, there was an outcry so great the ideawas dropped, and it was confirmed the spirewould be rebuilt – just as it was before the fire.The cost would be immense, but donationsflowed in from around the world totalling846 million euros.Organ pipes, the largest of which are 32 feet high © Julio Piatti, Notre-Dame de ParisThe carpentry work is astounding © Julio Piatti, Notre-Dame de ParisFor five years, some 2,000 craftspeoplefrom every region of France toiled to bringNotre-Dame back to life, including quarrymenwho extracted the stones in the Oise andAisne regions in Picardy, the “rentrayeuses”,expert weavers who restored the choir carpetin the workshops of the Mobilier National,10 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 11
