Giant statues return to the spire of Notre Dame Cathedral/ photo gallery
Sixteen giant statues will be re-erected on Notre Dame’s spire as part of the latest stage of the cathedral’s €700m (£600m) reconstruction after the devastating fire in 2019.
The copper-plated figures, each weighing nearly 150 kg, escaped the flames because they were removed from the cathedral for renovation just four days before flames engulfed the roof and destroyed the spire.
The statue of St. Thomas will be placed on the rebuilt spire. Representations of the other 11 apostles and the four evangelists will be put in place “in stages”, according to Notre Dame’s team.
The statues were designed by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc for the 19th-century remodeling of Notre Dame and created by sculptor Adolphe Victor Geoffroy-Dechaume.
Installed in 1861, the apostles are each 3.4 meters high and are arranged in four groups around the 96-meter spire, which was added by Viollet-le-Duc in 1858.
In front of each group is a statue of an evangelist: a bull for St. Luke, a lion for St. Mark, an eagle for St. John and an angel for St. Matthew.
All the statues look towards Paris, except the one of St. Thomas, the patron saint of the architects, which looks towards the spire and is said to have been modeled after Viollet-le-Duc.
Original color
The statues were completely renovated, damaged parts were replaced and corrosion was removed, restoring their original dark brown color. They were also protected with teflon against weather damage. During the renovation, workers discovered bullet holes in the statue of St. Mark, believed to date from World War II.
The statues will be placed in their original places beneath the new golden rooster of the spire, a symbol of hope and faith and emblem of France. Installed last December, it houses relics from the cathedral and a sealed tube containing a list of nearly 2,000 people who have worked to rebuild the cathedral since the April 15, 2019 fire.
The original spire cock survived the fire and was discovered among the battered but intact debris. It is on display at the Museum of Architecture and Heritage in Paris, but will be moved to a new museum dedicated to Notre Dame.
The cathedral was officially reopened in December by Emmanuel Macron in a ceremony attended by world leaders, including the French president’s counterparts Donald Trump and Volodimir Zelenski.
Photo credit: David Bordes © Rebâtir Notre-Dame de Paris
