Notre-Dame in Color

The Gothic sculptures on Notre-Dame’s portals were once vividly polychromed, with prophets in azurite, red ochre, and malachite, and angels and saints brightened with rosy flesh tones. The 2019 fire, though destructive, opened an unprecedented window for researchers to study these surviving pigments. Learn how historian Jennifer M. Feltman, a leading American specialist and member of the restoration team, is investigating this lost color scheme and helping guide an international project to reconstruct the portals’ original appearance. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)