Looking back at the history and restoration of the 16 statues on the spire, from their creation to their return in 2025:
1859: based on drawings by Viollet-le-Duc and a model by Adolphe-Victor Geoffroy-Decheaume, the Monduit workshops created 16 hammered copper statues representing the twelve Apostles and the symbols of the four Evangelists.
April 2019: as part of the restoration work on the spire, the statues were taken down from their location in two pieces, the heads on one side and the bodies on the other, and sent for restoration (85% financed by the Notre Dame Foundation). Little did anyone know, this would save them from the fire.
2020-2021: the statues were restored in a workshop in the Dordogne, under the supervision of the DRAC Ile-de-France. Various craftspeople were involved in the process:
- Metalworkers restored the iron framework forming the skeleton of the statue.
- Coppersmiths stripped the oxidation from the copper plates and filled in any gaps.
- Patina finishers applied a sulfur-based solution (or barège) to each statue to react with the copper and restore it to the chocolate brown color it had in Viollet-le-Duc’s day. They then stopped the reaction with a blowtorch and applied a layer of wax to protect the statue.
2021: the statues were restored and returned to their original color. They were housed in the galleries of the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine.
April 2025: with the roofing of the spire nearing completion, the statues returned to the work site. Sheltered by scaffolding at the site headquarters, they were slung into position in one piece and firmly secured with an internal mast.
And so we come full circle: the statues have been returned to their rightful place in the skyline of the capital!
Main picture: David Bordes © Rebâtir Notre-Dame de Paris
