Virgin of Paris

Notre-Dame de Paris, 14th century.

The Virgin of Paris or Notre-Dame de Paris is a title of the Blessed Virgin that is associated with a near life-size stone statue, 1.8 metres tall, of the Virgin and Child created in the early 14th century. The statue was transferred to Notre-Dame in 1818, it was first placed in the over mantal of the portal of the Virgin to replace the 13th century Virgin, which was destroyed in 1793. In 1855, during the restoration campaign of Viollet-le-Duc, it was installed in its current location at the south-east pillar of the transept, a historically meaningful site since an altar to the Virgin stood at the same place at the end of the 12th century.[1] The statue was commissioned for, and remains in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris,[2] where it survived the 2019 Notre-Dame fire.[3] It is an example of the court style in Late Gothic sculpture.

The statue is in honour of the Blessed Virgin, mother of Jesus.[4] It retains an emotional appeal that links it to the Strasbourg Death of the Virgin.

  1. ^ "The Virgin of Paris and the Conversion of Paul Claudel, Christmas Eve 1886". Dappled Things. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
  2. ^ Base Palissy: Vierge à l'Enfant dite Notre-Dame de Paris, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
  3. ^ Vivienne Walt: An Exclusive Look Inside the Recovery Efforts to Save Notre Dame, Time.com, 11 July 2019
  4. ^ Kleiner, Fred S. Gardner’s Art Through the Ages 13th Edition Volume 1. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2009. Print.