tech
February 6, 2026
‘It’s not very French to change stuff’: how Claire Tabouret’s stained-glass windows cast Notre Dame in new light
Five years after a fire destroyed most of the cathedral, the artist explains how her designs will give the landmark a modern makeover and the ‘contemporary gesture’ Emmanuel Macron promised

TL;DR
- Claire Tabouret is designing six new stained-glass windows for Notre Dame Cathedral, a project initiated after the 2019 fire.
- Her contemporary designs, inspired by the theme of Pentecost, feature figurative scenes and vibrant colors.
- The project has generated controversy, with some critics protesting the replacement of the existing 19th-century windows.
- Tabouret's work is also being showcased in a solo retrospective at the Museum Voorlinden.
- She was inspired by Emmanuel Macron's promise of a 'contemporary gesture' in the cathedral's reconstruction.
- The windows are being crafted at Atelier Simon-Marq, a historic glass workshop.
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