Insights - Cathedrals Ce1

Rediscover
Cathedrals
Painting the Past

At the center of the small town of Chartres, a ninety-minute train ride away from Paris, sits a
towering cathedral. This edifice, completed in the thirteenth century, has been the center of
controversy because of a decision made in 2009 to renovate it. This is no simple, patchwork
maintenance performed on many old monuments; the cathedrals once gloomy interior blackened
by centuries of use is currently being painted a sunny, pale yellow. The paint job is part of a
monumental attempt to restore the cathedral to its medieval appearance, but the renovation has
inspired a polemic response.

The cathedrals official website announces that the renovation will bring about a radical change in
our perspective of the place[my translation]. Yet, some are skeptical. Martin Filler, writer for the
New York Review of Books, expressed his hope that by some miracle this scandalous desecration
of a cultural holy place can be reversed.

When I visited the cathedral three years ago, I stood in the middle of the scandal and the radical
shift of perspective. I entered the cathedral, halfway through renovation and split by history. One
half was the color of charcoal; the other half was full of colorbright whites and yellows gleamed
in the intense light that shown through the newly cleaned stained glass windows. I was stunned by
the contrast.

At first, it may seem as though the renovation is destroying history; but those who take the time to
appreciate the work that has been done come to realize that it is in fact uncovering history. An
untrained twentieth-century eye can see very little in a cathedral obscured by centuries of dust, but
using Chartres as a guide, modern visitors can learn to see cathedrals as their thirteenth-century
counterparts saw them. Medieval visitors, looking at a myriad of colors accentuating stained glass,
sculpture, and architectural detail, must have seen much more in a cathedral than we see today.

Stained Glass
The purpose of stained glass is to tell stories and to invite light into a sacred space. As the years
pass, the light is dimmed and the stories are silenced by dust. Modern tourists see only muted tones
of colored glass, yet medieval visitors read the stories of the cathedral walls represented in vibrant
color. During the renovation of Chartres Cathedral, the glass is being cleaned piece by piece,
transforming the subdued colored glass back into lively stories and the shadowy cathedral into a
place of light. Each time we visit a cathedral, we should imagine it full of light, and we should look
for the stories that are being told in the glass.

Sculpture
The sculptures on the exterior of cathedrals have a story to tell as well, but these tales are often lost
over time. Where medieval visitors saw beautiful representations of people, animals, and mystical
creatures, modern visitors see only crumbling, often unrecognizable figures. At Chartres Cathedral,
for example, you can see sculptures of the twelve apostles holding objects that symbolize how they
were martyred. Yet time and wear erase details, effacing the life of the sculptures and the apostles
of old. Skilled masons at Chartres are renovating the sculptures to bring the figures back to life. In
places where the sculptures havent been reanimated, we are left to our imaginations to envision
what the sculpture once looked like.

Architectural Detail
Lauren Prochelo 3/14/16 8:05 PM

Comment [1]: I think it would be great to
have a title that alludes more to what your
story focuses on. Could we somehow tie in
the renovation and renewal that you
address? I think that is what makes your
story unique and what will draw people in.
Painting the Past is one suggestion.
Deleted: outside of
Comment [2]: I found myself wondering
... [1]
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Deleted: the cathedral
Deleted: and
Deleted: ing

Formatted: Indent: Left: 0"
Deleted: the cathedral
Deleted: c

Deleted: will be
Moved (insertion) [1]
Comment [3]: I thought this sentence
... f[2]
it
Deleted: ,
Deleted: s
Comment [4]: This is just a suggestion.
... [3]
I
Moved up [1]: Where medieval visitors
... [4]
Deleted: shapeless
Deleted:
Deleted:
In a cathedral that has not been renovated, the mlange of grey can blend together and hide the
architectural details. Where paint has long since faded, visitors have the challenge of detecting the
numerous architectural details in a sea of gray. Paint serves to accentuate the architecture of the
building. At Chartres Cathedral, painters have chosen yellow and white paint to draw visitors
attention to the vaulting in the ambulatory around the cathedrals nave.

If the renovation of Chartres Cathedral had been stopped at that point where I first saw ithalf
black, half yellow it would have given visitors the unique opportunity to close one eye and
imagine what todays gloomy cathedral must have looked like centuries ago. Then, through the
opposite eye, they would see if their imagination came close. This cathedral would have trained
average travelers to discover the beauty of ancient architecture, as it did for me.

Unfortunately, the renovation will be completed next year; the old cathedral will be entirely
masked by the new, and visitors will no longer have the rare privilege of witnessing the cathedrals
dramatic transformation in process. However, with this renovation complete, tourists can go to
Chartres to see an example of what a medieval cathedral once looked like. And they can use that
vision to help them uncover the beauty hidden in cathedrals that havent undergone such dramatic
renovations.

Next time you visit Notre Dame de Paris or Reims or any other cathedral, remember Chartres. Allow
your imagination to peel back the layers of time and see cathedrals as they were meant to be seen.
The answer will not be right in front of you, but maybe that is exactly what will intrigue you and
push you to continue rediscovering cathedrals.

Comment [5]: I dont think you need to
indent these section. The subheads do
enough to set them apart. But feel free to set
them off in your design J
Deleted: In cathedrals whose paint has
long since faded, visitors have the challenge
of detecting the numerous architectural
details in a sea of gray.
Deleted: should have

Deleted: their
Deleted: could
Deleted: could

Comment [6]: I dont know if ancient is
a better word than old, but I thought old
had a more negative connotation. Maybe we
can come up with a word that portrays the
magnificence of these buildings, because
they are much more impressive when you
consider the tools available at the time they
were built. Their age makes them all the
more impressive.
Deleted: all old
Deleted: buildings
Deleted: ;

Deleted: visitors
Deleted: still
Deleted: a

Deleted: fascinate
Page 1: [1] Comment [2]
Lauren Prochelo
2/27/16 1:32 PM
I found myself wondering when the cathedral was actually built, so I thought this
would be a useful tidbit to add.
Lauren Prochelo
2/27/16 1:22 PM
I thought this sentence fit in better when you talk about sculptures in general, so I
moved it up to before you address the Chartres Cathedral specifically.
Lauren Prochelo
2/27/16 1:18 PM
This is just a suggestion. I thought it added a deeper meaning to the effacing of a

cathedral.
Page 1: [4] Moved to page 1 (Move #1) Lauren Prochelo
2/27/16 1:21 PM
Where medieval visitors saw beautiful representations of people, animals, and mystical
creatures, modern visitors see only crumbling, often unrecognizable figures.

Insights - Cathedrals Ce1

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Rediscover

Lauren Prochelo 3/14/16 8:05 PM

Lauren Prochelo 4/14/16 2:31 PM

Lauren Prochelo 2/27/16 1:13 PM

Lauren Prochelo 3/14/16 8:00 PM

Lauren Prochelo 2/27/16 1:22 PM

Lauren Prochelo 2/27/16 1:23 PM

Lauren Prochelo 2/27/16 1:27 PM

Lauren Prochelo 2/27/16 1:29 PM

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Page 1: [1] Comment [2]

This is just a suggestion. I thought it added a deeper meaning to the effacing of a

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