Historic Tuscaloosa, a nonprofit organization that focuses on highlighting the importance of historic preservation, hosted the lecture about Notre-Dame de Paris’ restoration and collaborative research at UA on Thursday. The lecture featured Jennifer Feltman, an associate professor in medieval art and architecture.
On April 15, 2019, Parisians were collectively devastated at the news of the burning of Notre-Dame de Paris. The medieval, French Gothic cathedral was cherished by people all over the world. When news struck of the fire, a team of researchers from UA traveled to Paris several times to contribute to the stabilization and restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris.
Chantier scientifique de Notre-Dame, the research group authorized by the French Ministry of Culture, spent five years contributing to the reimagining of Notre-Dame de Paris. Feltman co-directed the Chantier scientifique project with Gregory Chaumet, a design engineer for Sorbonne Université. Feltman specializes in medieval and French Gothic sculpture, and she said the cathedral was very close to her heart.
During the lecture, Feltman said that from 2019-2021 the construction workers focused on stabilizing Notre-Dame.
“This building was in danger of collapsing, and I don’t think we realized how dangerous that was for the cathedral,” Feltman said. “If the winds had been strong enough and hit the building at certain angles, Notre-Dame would have collapsed.”
Even though the construction workers were able to stabilize the roof initially, it did end up collapsing.
From 2021 to June 2024, Feltman and her researchers focused on restoring Notre-Dame. Alexandre Tokovinine, a professor in anthropology, began working with a digital modeling technology known as photogrammetry and, alongside his team, was able to reimagine the sculptures of the building.
“The collaborativeness in the community is a beautiful thing,” said Will Hawkins, the executive director of Historic Tuscaloosa. “The way that we reach out into the community to the rest of the world and how we all worked together to preserve this beautiful historic monument is truly priceless.”
Alongside members of the Tuscaloosa community and professors, students also attended the lecture. Daphne Shearer, a graduate student in art history, was among those students.
“A lot of people are scared of change, especially post-pandemic. Everything changes; it always has and it always will. But it always comes back, and that’s a really beautiful thing. I definitely believe Dr. Feltman’s work on Notre-Dame de Paris teaches us that,” Shearer said.
