What will the future modern stained-glass windows of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral look like? The designs of visual artist Claire Tabouret – chosen to create the cathedral’s new windows – are being shown to the public for the first time at a double exhibition at the Grand Palais in Paris until 15 March 2026. Tabouret tells RFI about her vision, the constraints of the project and her approach to heritage.

Issued on: 11/01/2026 - 16:27

4 min Reading time

Tabouret was selected by a special committee to create contemporary windows for Notre-Dame, in collaboration with the Reims-based glassmaking studio Simon-Marq.

Notre-Dame reopened on 7 December 2024 after a five-year restoration following the devastating fire of 2019.

Some heritage groups have criticised the decision to introduce new windows. Among them is Didier Rykner, head of the cultural heritage website La Tribune de l’Art, who opposes the project on the grounds that the original windows were not damaged in the fire.

Tabouret’s designs, expected to be installed by late this year, will replace six of the seven windows on the south aisle of the cathedral, originally designed by 19th-century architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.

Paris archbishop Michel Aupetit, center left, celebrates a mass next to Eric Aumonier, center, dociesan representative regarding Notre-Dame de Paris’ renovation, during a mass to call for more donations by faithfuls for the renovation of the monument ravaged two years ago by a fire at Notre Dame Cathedral Wednesday 16 June 2021 in Paris. AP - Thomas Samson

RFI: What were your thoughts when you were entrusted with this historic project?

Claire Tabouret: I immediately wanted to get to work. It’s true that this is a project that instills great humility, because I’m part of an extremely long timeframe. There was a lot to do.

RFI: What is the theme for the stained-glass?

CT: The theme, already set out in the call for projects, is Pentecost. At this time, magnificent gatherings take place between people, despite their differences. This theme is reflected in six key moments. This is something we discover here at the Grand Palais, in a scenography where we truly see the horizontal dimension of the story unfolding before our eyes.

RFI: The exhibition presented here is called "D’un seul souffle" ("In a Single Breath"). Is this an echo of the Holy Spirit?

CT: Yes, of course, there’s the breath of the Holy Spirit. There’s also the breath of the glass. It’s true that all the glass panes in these stained-glass windows were mouth-blown. And I almost forgot, there’s also the breath of the wind. We can indeed see that tree bending in the wind.

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RFI: It seems that you have made the choice of using very bright colours?

**CT: **These stained-glass windows will be installed on the south side of Notre-Dame, so they’ll be in quite bright light. Therefore, we needed fairly intense colours to allow that light to penetrate and shine through. Another specific requirement of the project was the need to maintain a white light. The colour balance is absolutely perfect.

Each colour is used in equal quantities and on equal surfaces, ensuring that when the light passes through the stained glass, it won’t create a large pool of red or blue on the floor of Notre-Dame, but rather, it will maintain the harmony of the cathedral’s natural light.

RFI: Did you have complete freedom or did you have to work within a framework?

**CT: **By choosing to take part in this project, I chose to serve a framework. There’s the constraint of the architecture itself, which must be fully considered in the compositions. And then there’s also the need to integrate seamlessly with what surrounds us in Notre-Dame, which predates these stained-glass windows, ensuring a pleasant and harmonious transition.

Each bay window illustrates a phrase at a key moment of Pentecost. They were all gathered together in one place. In the first bay of Saint Joseph, we see his apostles gathered together, holding hands in prayer. But it’s also the interior of the house, the house of God, because we have stained-glass windows within the stained-glass windows.

That’s where the idea came to me to reference Viollet-le-Duc in my own compositions, creating a kind of echo of these ornaments in the background of the composition, making us feel that these figures are within it. And then, that idea came back in every bay window like a leitmotif [recurrent theme] until the end of the story.

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RFI: In France, there was a bit of a controversy over the stained-glass windows, which some called the "stained-glass windows of discord". What do you make of that?

**CT: **I understand that this is a topic for discussion, and the more I read about this project, the more I wanted to see it happen because it seemed absolutely invigorating. How are we going to continue living here in France, with our heritage, with all these buildings, these historical monuments? We can’t freeze them in time. We have to keep moving forward. And this is about the vitality of the church, but also of our country, of our culture.

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This article was based on an interview in French by RFI’s Isabelle Chenu and slightly edited for clarity.