Claire Tabouret exhibits the stained glass windows of Notre-Dame at the Grand Palais

First the swirl of colors. Blues and greens dominate, seamlessly enhanced by the purple tunics of the Apostles or the yellow tunics of the processionaries. Claire Tabouret, contemporary artist, received the formidable privilege of creating six stained glass windows for Notre-Dame de Paris. Each canopy responds to an extract from the verses of the Acts of the Apostles recounting the founding event of Pentecost. Here, the last two of the cycle illustrate “Those who heard had their hearts pierced” and “They began to speak in other tongues” (Acts 2:4).

The 44-year-old French artist had to face a controversy: to make room for her works, the stained glass windows commissioned in the 19th century by the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, classified as Historic Monuments and still in good condition, were crated. She tried to respond peacefully, by evoking the design of the old ones on the future windows, like a courteous mise en abyme addressed to her predecessor. In the posture of the characters, we can also read a homage to the Gothic style.

Claire Tabouret wanted this exhibition to let the public form its own opinion of six life-size studies. The whole will be created by the Simon-Marq master glassmaker workshop, before being installed in the cathedral next fall. Reactions are varied, but visitors seem intrigued by this strong and yet humble vision of the divine breath spread over men. Going beyond the too-seen models of pious images, without completely denying them, the artist was able to capture this moment of harmony where Christianity gains momentum to reach out to the nations.