European Art and Architecture

Bridging Two Eras: Change or Continuity?

St. Vitale, interior6th Century Church in Northern Italy

Notre Dame la Grande11th Century Church in France

Windsor Castle11th Century fortification in England

Chartres Cathedral,12th Century Church in France

A Controversial Restoration That Wipes Away the PastBy BENJAMIN RAMMSEPT. 1, 2017CHARTRES, France — The pilgrim did not find what he

was searching for. As a child, Patrice Bertrand heard his

mother recount details of her visit to the shrine of the

famous Black Madonna of Chartres Cathedral, 60 miles

southwest of Paris. Now Mr. Bertrand, 41, of Nantes, was

following in her footsteps. But he was perplexed by what he

discovered: “The statue I came to see is not here anymore,”

he said. The Black Madonna had become white.

The decision to remove what a plaque in the cathedral calls

the “unsightly coating” from the 16th-century wooden icon

has come to symbolize the contested transformation of

Chartres, which has been undergoing a decade-long

restoration. For almost 500 years, pilgrims worshiped the

Virgin’s dark visage, and it accrued the kind of mythic

currency integral to Catholic worship. To some critics, the

repainting has erased a cultural memory from a building its

restorers say they are saving.

Notre Dame, flank

Notre Dame, nave

Sainte Chappelle, stained glass

Chartres, rose window and stained glass

Santa Maria del Fiore, “duomo”

Interior ofSan LorenzoIn Florence

San Pietro, “Tempietto”Early 16th c “small temple” in a church courtyard

Palazzo Rucellai,Florence15th C.

Palazzo Publico, Siena

Les Tres Riches Heures, SeptemberGothic Illuminated Manuscript

“The Mourning of Christ”, by Giotto1306

Well of Moses Pulpit,Early 14th C. Sculpture

“Holy Trinity w/Virgin and St. John”Early 15th C. Painting in Florence

“Creation of Adam,” Sistine Chapel

“The Last Supper”

“The Birth of Venus”

“David”

“The School of Athens”