2023-06-23 17:59:41
After consulting the artistic committee, Mgr Laurent Ulrich entrusted, Friday, June 23, the realization of the future liturgical furniture of the cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris to the designer Guillaume Bardet, 52 years old. Former resident of the Villa Medici in Rome, he has already carried out several major projects, including The Factory of the Present, The Last Supper at the Dominican convent of Sainte-Marie de La Tourette in Eveux (Rhône) in 2017.
Comprising the altar, the ambo, the cathedra, the tabernacle and the baptistery, the liturgical furnishings go beyond the mere artistic and heritage dimension: “The ability of the proposed works to evoke the mystery of God through the Catholic faith, to serve for times to come the beauty of the liturgical life (…) while respecting the centuries-old heritage of the cathedral (…) will be decisive in the choice of the Archbishop of Paris”had specified the diocese during the call for applications in October.
Guillaume Bardet chose bronze as the material for the five elements with very refined shapes. “The first piece that came to me was the ambo. I saw it fairly quickly, describing a capital T, shape of freedom. » The baptistery has “the evidence of circularity” which will allow the circulation of families, godfathers or godmothers. “I wanted natural forms for a work on the immutable”, explained the designer.
The personal choice of Bishop Ulrich
Sixty-nine files had been received and on January 3, the Archbishop of Paris had revealed the names of the five candidates invited to draw up a project. The consultation was accompanied by an artistic committee made up of representatives of the diocese, the Ministry of Culture, the public establishment responsible for the conservation and restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, as well as qualified personalities.
At the end of the final meeting of the committee, Tuesday, June 20, it was Bishop Laurent Ulrich who personally made the decision. “I measure this responsibility, I have nourished my reflection during this year, with the greatest experts”testified the archbishop. “We had to respect history, make a lasting work” which makes it readable “the noble simplicity of the liturgy of Vatican II”.
Bishop Ulrich praised the work of Guillaume Bardet, a “coherent project” in which “every piece is immediately readable”. He welcomed the choice of bronze, which “enters into a frank dialogue with the stone”.
1,500 chairs
Another smaller consultation allowed the designer Ionna Vautrin to be entrusted with the design of the 1,500 chairs that will be placed in the nave of the cathedral and whose vocation is to exist outside the celebrations. “They show that there is still a living community and let the whole of the cathedral be seen”, underlined the Archbishop. It’s furniture “timeless”in solid oak, whose vertical bars evoke the arches and columns of the cathedral.
Finally, Bishop Ulrich asked the artist Sylvain Dubuisson to create the reliquary for the crown of thorns, a fragment of the wood of the cross and a nail from the Passion. The crown is in this work “the hearth of a halo of quadrangular cabochons on a gold background radiating the motif of the Cross, in the center of a wooden rack set with bronze thorns”. Visitors and worshipers will be able to express their devotion by touching this reliquary and placing candles.
Bishop Laurent Ulrich will present the interior design project of the cathedral to the next meeting of the National Heritage and Architecture Commission (CNPA) to be held on July 13 and will issue an advisory opinion.
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Delivery in September 2024
October 17, 2022. Launch of the call for tenders for liturgical furniture. As of December 16, 69 files received.
January 3, 2023. The Archbishop of Paris reveals the names of the five successful candidates.
January 2023. Launch of the call for tenders for the chairs.
May 23. Rendering of projects for the furniture, and June 5 for the chairs.
June 23. Announcement of the choice of selected projects.
July 13. Meeting of the National Commission for Heritage and Architecture (CNPA) which gives its advisory opinion.
September 2024. Furniture delivery.
December 8, 2024. First celebration at Notre-Dame.
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