Models of the six new contemporary stained glass windows for Notre-Dame de Paris, designed by artist Claire Tabouret, are currently on display at the Grand Palais in Paris. The exhibition of the maquettes will run until March 15, 2026, with the actual stained glass windows scheduled for installation by the end of 2026. Claire Tabouret was chosen in December 2024 to introduce a contemporary element to the cathedral following its restoration after the 2019 fire. Each of the brightly colored, figurative stained glass windows illustrates a verse from the Bible related to Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit, a theme selected by the Archdiocese of Paris.
3 months ago
Models of six contemporary stained glass windows for Notre-Dame de Paris are on display at the Grand Palais in Paris from December 10, 2025, to March 15, 2026.1
Created by French artist Claire Tabouret, the nearly seven-meter-high (23 feet) colorful, figurative paintings depict Bible verses on Pentecost.1
Tabouret, aged 44 and based between Paris and Los Angeles, was selected in December 2024 by the French government and Archdiocese of Paris.1
The windows show scenes like men praying in a circle, a torn sky symbolizing the Holy Spirit's noise, and figures in procession conveying a message of tolerance.1
Displayed in installation order for the cathedral's south aisle, they aim to add a modern touch post-2019 restoration.1
The Simon-Marq workshop in Reims, which survived near-liquidation in 2019, is crafting the windows using stencils, monotypes, and colored glass pieces shown at the exhibit.1
Tabouret hopes the display promotes stained glass as a vibrant art form for collectors.1
The new windows will replace intact 19th-century stained glass by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, undamaged in the 2019 fire due to their south aisle location.1
Initiated by President Macron and Archbishop Laurent Ulrich to leave a "contemporary mark," installation is planned for late 2026.1
Heritage advocates launched a petition with nearly 300,000 signatures against replacing unharmed historic windows.1
A court appeal was rejected in November 2025; the National Heritage and Architecture Commission (CNPA) opposed but later "took note," urging preservation of originals for public display.1
France boasts the world's largest stained glass area at 90,000 m², serving as a "Bible in glass" for prayer and divine glory.1
The project underscores debates beyond art, emphasizing spiritual purpose amid restoration splendor.1
Evaluate Catholic heritage: contemporary stained glass versus traditional iconography
Catholic heritage richly embraces sacred art as a vital means of encountering the divine, rooted in the Incarnation and affirmed by ecumenical councils and magisterial teachings. Traditional iconography, with its profound theological depth, and contemporary stained glass, as a modern expression of Western artistry, both contribute to this heritage when they foster faith, devotion, and liturgical participation. While icons carry a dogmatic normativity from the Second Council of Nicaea, the Church actively promotes new artistic forms—including stained glass—that harmonize with sacred purposes, preserving the past while adapting to the present.
The Church's defense of sacred images originates in the iconoclastic controversies, where theologians like St. Germanus and St. John Damascene argued that rejecting icons equates to denying the Incarnation. As St. John Damascene proclaimed, "It is not matter which I venerate, but rather the Creator of matter who became matter for me," emphasizing that icons honor the prototype—Christ's human face revealing the invisible God—through veneration, not adoration. This dogmatic foundation, enshrined at Nicaea II, distinguishes the image from its subject and grounds all Christian iconography in the Word made flesh.
Pope John Paul II echoed this in unveiling Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel restorations, describing the icon as "like a sacrament of Christian life, since in it the mystery of the incarnation becomes present." The Old Testament's prohibition on images (Ex 20:4) yielded to the New Covenant's revelation, where "the Word becomes an image," allowing visible representations that draw the faithful to the invisible God. Lumen Gentium upholds Nicaea II's decrees, mandating their observance for images of Christ, Mary, and the saints. Thus, traditional iconography is not mere decoration but a "channel of grace with sanctifying power," manifesting Tradition alongside Scripture and liturgy.
In Eastern Christianity, icons are primarily liturgical objects for veneration, didactic tools revealing supernatural realities, and quasi-sacramental presences. Created by ascetic iconographers—often monks—they depict salvation history, biblical themes, feasts, and saints, inspired by Scripture, patristics, hymns, and synaxaria. Their "proper setting" is the Church and "proper time" the liturgical calendar, transforming ecclesial space into a narrative of divine revelation realized in the present.
Western rediscovery integrates this: Pope Benedict XVI (as Cardinal Ratzinger) insisted the West adopt Nicaea II's theology as normative, centering icons on Christ's Passion-Resurrection, born of and leading to contemplation through the Church's eyes of faith. They unfold salvation history, ordered to Christ's Second Coming, with saints as secondary extensions of His story. As Patriarch Dimitrios I noted, icons realize the communion of saints adoring the Trinity, drawing worshippers closer to God amid sacramental gestures. Pope John Paul II stressed that sacred art must relate to the divine, not "art for art's sake," serving the Church's faith and hope.
Vatican II's Sacrosanctum Concilium elevates sacred art as oriented to "the infinite beauty of God," turning minds to Him through worthy signs of the supernatural. The Church, a "friend of the fine arts," reserves judgment on works for sacred use, admitting technical progress while training artists for piety and tradition. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal affirms the Church's pursuit of "noble assistance of the arts," preserving ancestral treasures and commissioning new works "in harmony with the character of each successive age" that nourish faith and devotion.
The Catechism defines sacred art as "true and beautiful" when glorifying God's transcendent mystery, reflected in Christ, Mary, angels, and saints, drawing man to adoration and love. Bishops must remove repugnant works offending faith or piety through "depraved forms or... lack of artistic worth." The Pontifical Council for Culture urges bishops to foster "noble beauty rather than mere sumptuous display," encouraging artists in "new art forms adapted to our time" while respecting liturgical norms and indigenous Catholic expression. Christian art remains a "cultural asset" communicating the Covenant. The Church cannot dispose of entrusted heritage for God's glory and edification.
Stained glass, a hallmark of Gothic cathedrals, exemplifies Western sacred art's narrative power, illuminating salvation history through colored light—echoing icons' role in ecclesial space. Though not explicitly named, it aligns with principles for modern works: evoking divine beauty, serving liturgy, and promoting participation. Unlike Eastern icons' stylized austerity, stained glass often employs realism and symbolism, yet both must center Christ, avoiding mediocrity.
Jean-Luc Marion links icons to the Cross as paradoxical "types" bridging visible and invisible via recognition, not imitation—an aesthetic applicable to stained glass revealing glory through pierced light. Vatican II's call for "art which is truly sacred" invites contemporary stained glass if it inspires prayer and transcendence, as in post-conciliar commissions. However, it risks "pretense" if prioritizing novelty over doctrine.
Traditional iconography holds privileged status for its direct tie to Nicaea II's dogmatics and Eastern liturgical mysticism, revived in the West as essential catechesis—witness Benedict XVI's integration of icons in the Compendium of the Catechism. Its contemplative depth and strict theology guard against idolatry, focusing veneration on prototypes.
Contemporary stained glass, conversely, embodies Western dynamism, using light as a metaphor for divine illumination, narrating mysteries accessibly for the illiterate—like icons as "books of the illiterate." Both thrive in liturgy: icons in personal prayer, stained glass in architectural immersion. The Church favors neither exclusively; superiority lies in fidelity to criteria—doctrinal soundness, noble beauty, devotional efficacy. Traditional icons set the theological benchmark, but stained glass innovates if "in keeping with... different nations and regions." Controversy arises in divergent styles: East prioritizes canonical forms, West allows variety, yet Nicaea II norms all. Recent teachings (Vatican II onward) prioritize harmony, cautioning against discarding heritage.
In practice, exemplary contemporary stained glass—like modern cathedral windows—enhances heritage by unfolding Christ's Paschal Mystery, complementing icons in ecumenical unity.
Catholic heritage thus integrates both: traditional iconography as dogmatic cornerstone, contemporary stained glass as vital evolution, united in glorifying God and sanctifying the faithful. Prioritize discernment—does it lead to contemplation and liturgy?—to ensure each serves the Church's mission.