11 minute read
Lighting The Soul Of Notre Dame Part II
A Tale of Restoration
In Part I of this series, published in the FEB edition of designing lighting global (dlg), we took a detailed look at the brilliance of the overall lighting design provided by Patrick Rimoux. In this article we will look at the results, and his playful surprise that reminds me of some of the cunning tricks of the great masters. We’ll also take a deep dive into the restoration of the chandeliers.
As I compare the before and after images of a work of art at Notre Dame, the transformation is striking. The first photo was taken in September 2019 during a LiFi Congress in Paris, while the second was captured during my January 2025 visit, after the restoration.
In both the above images, the statue remains radiant, its presence undiminished by time. However, the difference in the surrounding details is remarkable. In the pre-restoration image, the walls and ceiling seem to disappear, as if only the bottom of the painting held significance. The rich architectural elements were lost in the shadows— and in the dirt and grime.
Now, in the restored version, the full scene is revealed. The walls and ceiling are visible, bringing depth and dimension to the space. The most striking revelation? The blue ceiling adorned with stars—a breathtaking detail that had once been completely obscured. Before, one would never have even known they existed.
A Hidden Message…
Art historians have long marveled at the hidden messages embedded in masterpieces, with Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code bringing mainstream attention to the idea that Leonardo da Vinci concealed secrets within The Last Supper. But have you ever heard of a lighting designer embedding a hidden message into their work?
That’s exactly what I discovered with this remarkable piece. Adoration of the Shepherds, painted in 1585, miraculously survived the Notre Dame fire and has since been carefully restored. But here’s where things get fascinating—take a close look at the flute player. He wasn’t originally part of the painting.
The illusion is part of Patrick Rimoux’s genius. Patrick added the figure using nothing but light. The flute player isn’t painted on the canvas—he is nothing more than a shadow, skillfully integrated as a gobo into the lighting fixture. This seamless fusion of art and technology transforms the way we experience the painting, making it a modern masterpiece in its own right.
On April 15, 2019, during a family trip to Paris, IP attorney Henrik Villumsen found himself living in history, just blocks from the Notre Dame fire.
“We had just walked past Notre Dame and stopped for lunch at a restaurant about 300 meters away,” Henrik recalled. “We couldn’t see the cathedral from where we were sitting, but after about an hour, it felt like something out of a movie—phones started ringing, and people were being asked if they were okay. The sense of confusion quickly turned into shock as we realized what was happening.”
Leaving the restaurant, Henrik and his family walked along the Seine, witnessing the unfolding tragedy. “The bridges were packed with people watching in disbelief, but what stands out in my memory—aside
from the burning itself—was the sight of police boats rushing below us toward Notre Dame,” he said. About a hundred meters away, Inès Mathieu was also watching the fire, unaware that her future would become so closely tied to the cathedral’s restoration. She had been at home in Paris, finishing her studies, when her boyfriend rushed into the bathroom with shocking news.
“He said, ‘There’s a fire at Notre Dame,’” she recalled, remembering her disbelief. “But then I saw his face. He told me, ‘You need to get out now. We’re going there.’”
The two raced from their apartment in the 15th arrondissement toward the cathedral, navigating streets already closing under emergency barricades. By the time they reached the Seine, crowds had gathered along the bridges, frozen in shock. “We stood there watching in horror as the flames swallowed the roof,” Inès said. “It felt like we were witnessing history crumble before our eyes.”
At the time, she was not employed in the restoration business. Her boyfriend, however, was deeply involved, working for her family’s chandelier restoration company, Mathieu Lustrerie, one of the most prestigious in France. He knew, almost immediately, that they might one day be called upon to help rebuild what was lost.
A Love Story and a Career Path
For generations, Inès’ family had specialized in restoring and manufacturing chandeliers for historic landmarks, working on projects for grand palaces, theaters, and cathedrals across France. As fate would have it, Inès would eventually step into this legacy, but not before her personal life took an unexpected turn.
Two years after the fire, she joined the family company, just as it became clear that their expertise would be needed for Notre Dame. At the same time, she and her boyfriend were preparing for their wedding. It was a pivotal moment.
“He told me, ‘I think I have to leave the company,’” Inès said. “He loved the work, but he didn’t want us both working there once we were married. He wanted to keep some separation between our professional and personal lives.”
So, as he stepped away from the business, Inès stepped in. Within months, she was overseeing one of the most significant restoration projects of her career: the chandeliers of Notre Dame.
The Damage and Discovery
The chandeliers of Notre Dame, designed in the 19th century by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, have stood as silent witnesses to nearly 150 years of history, enduring war, time, and now restoration. Originally suspended from long chains in the cathedral’s nave, these grand fixtures were initially illuminated by candlelight, each holding 40 candles that bathed the space in a warm, flickering glow. With the advent of electricity, the chandeliers underwent significant changes. To accommodate modern wiring, they were relocated from the center of the nave to their current positions along the sides, where access to electrical sources was more practical. The transition from candlelight to electric bulbs also reduced the number of lights on each chandelier from 40 to 20, subtly altering their visual impact. Despite these modifications, the chandeliers remained largely untouched for over a century, retaining their historical character until their recent meticulous restoration.
The fire, however, left them in a state of devastation. One chandelier had fallen completely, shattered on impact. Two others, located closer to the collapsed spire, were damaged by falling debris. The rest were coated in thick layers of soot and toxic lead dust from the melted roof.
“When we first saw them, we didn’t even know where to begin,” Inès said. “The one that had fallen was in pieces, and all of them were covered in this dangerous contamination. We couldn’t just pick them up and start cleaning. Every step had to be carefully planned.”
Before any restoration work could begin, each chandelier had to be decontaminated off-site. The lead dust, a byproduct of the cathedral’s roof melting in the fire, posed a serious health risk. Cleaning took two weeks and was done inside the storage facility where the chandeliers had been moved immediately after the fire. “We couldn’t risk bringing contaminated chandeliers into our workshop,” Inès explained. “We had to make sure they were safe to handle first.”
Restoring the Chandeliers
Once transported to the workshop, the real work began. Each chandelier was completely disassembled, piece by piece, to be meticulously cleaned, polished, and restored. The restoration team made an important discovery—while many assumed the chandeliers had been gilded with gold, they were actually varnished brass. This meant they needed a different approach to preservation.
“We ran tests to see if we could preserve the patina by just cleaning them, but the results weren’t strong enough,” Inès said. “The chandeliers still looked too aged, and the architects overseeing the restoration wanted them to appear renewed, as if stepping into a restored past.”
The decision was made to fully re-varnish each piece, restoring the chandeliers to their original 19th-century brilliance. This painstaking process, combined with modern rewiring, took 13 months. Each chandelier was fitted with new electrical components, including tunable LED lights that allow the color temperature to be adjusted to match the warm glow of candlelight.
“It was a delicate balance,” Inès said. “We wanted to maintain the historical integrity while also embracing modern advancements. The goal was to make them look as they did when they were first installed, but with 21st-century technology.”
A Triumphant Return
By October 2024, the chandeliers were ready to be reinstalled. Each fixture, weighing approximately 180 kilograms, was hoisted back into place, an effort requiring precision and patience. One chandelier, a later addition from the 1960s, was even heavier at 260 kilograms.
“When we finally turned them on for the first time inside the cathedral, it was emotional,” Inès said. “We had been working on them for over a year, and to see them glowing again in Notre Dame—it was as if we were restoring light to something that had been in darkness for too long.”
More Than Just a Project
For Inès, the restoration of Notre Dame’s chandeliers was not just another project—it was personal.
“This project became a part of my life in ways I never expected,” she reflected. “I never imagined I would end up in this line of work, let alone be responsible for restoring one of the most famous cathedrals in the world. And to think, I was just a student, watching the fire from the street, never knowing how deeply I would become involved.”
Today, as visitors return to Notre Dame, they will look up and see the chandeliers glowing as they have for
generations. Few will know the story of their survival, the meticulous effort that went into their restoration, or the personal journey of the woman who helped bring them back to life. But for Inès, and for those who poured their passion into this project, the chandeliers are more than just lighting fixtures. They are symbols of resilience, history, and the enduring beauty of Notre Dame. ■
"I have never seen Paris so beautifully illuminated for Christmas. Whether it was just for the special rededication of Notre Dame, I don’t know—but it was absolutely breathtaking…
Think about what happened after Palm Sunday four and a half years ago. France didn’t accept the destruction of Notre Dame as the final chapter. The nation stood up and said, ‘This won’t stand. This cathedral is our symbol of hope, love, and God’s presence among us.’ What followed was nothing short of extraordinary—a national crusade, and even an international one.
I was honored to be invited because generous New Yorkers stepped forward and said, ‘We want to help. We want to raise money to support the reconstruction of Notre Dame.’ They refused to let the charred remains serve as a reminder of loss or the past. Instead, they committed to rebuilding. That determination, that faith, is something to celebrate."
— Cardinal Timothy Dolan in an interview with Maria Bartiromo, December 22, 2024
