Jennifer Feltman, associate professor of medieval art and architecture and internationally recognized scholar in French Gothic architecture and sculptures, has spent her career uncovering the ways culture and history are preserved by our physical spaces.
Feltman has spent the last 20 years researching monuments and the ways degradation, preservation and restoration have changed them. In recognition of her work in restoring the famed Cathedral de Notre Dame in Paris, France, Feltman was the 2025 recipient of the University’s Blackmon-Moody Outstanding Professor Award.
When observing monuments as old as Notre Dame, which began construction in the 1100s, it can be difficult to identify which parts of the structure are actually medieval and which were restored in subsequent eras.
“It may look medieval, but it may have been restored in the 19th century, or there could have been restoration earlier that’s not very well documented,” Feltman said. “Sometimes the archive is incomplete, and once you get past the 19th century, there’s not much there. It’s very, very thin in terms of information, so we have to look at the building itself.”
As a researcher, Feltman observed the restoration and its impact on the historical virtue of Notre Dame. This involves using modern technology to recreate damaged components while expanding the largely scant archive on when and how restorations occurred.
“One of the issues was that one of the facades has been so heavily restored over the centuries, it’s hard to understand what it looked like originally,” Feltman said. “It’s important to know what archeologists have discovered below the ground, to know what architectural historians have studied above the ground, what we can study from the materials.”
In particular, Feltman has worked on collecting research during the restoration of Notre Dame for various projects, including her dissertation project after the 2019 cathedral fire destroyed two-thirds of the roof, structure, and spires. While the fire itself was tragic for the integrity of the monument, Feltman said that it opened several doors for researchers to gain access to previously restricted locations within the cathedral.
As a historian, Feltman works to preserve sculptures and architecture iconic to such a prominent monument, yet the challenge of time itself demands restoration in order to save and display monuments as prominent as Notre Dame.
“Maybe you’ve heard of the Ship of Theseus metaphor before, the idea that you’re continually replacing parts on a ship as it’s moving along,” Feltman said. “Well, inevitably, a monument is a bit of a Ship of Theseus that we will always need to replace parts so that it continues to stay afloat, and in the end, its essence remains where its materials have changed.”
As a scholar, Feltman continues to work with the historical preservation and restoration committees in France while balancing her travels around the U.S. to speak about her work on Notre Dame. Feltman continues to teach, spreading her love for Gothic architecture and sculptures to the next generation of academics.
“I think it’s inspiring for students to see that the thing they’re studying actually has an application. I think it helps them to see their faculty members not just teaching them from a textbook, but teaching them things that have not yet been written in a textbook,” Feltman said. “This is also one of the exciting things about a research university, is that we don’t just repeat knowledge, we create new knowledge.”
