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Please join Peter Low in a lecture about Notre Dame on December 3rd

Tue, December 3rd, 2019
5:30 pm
- 7:30 pm

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On December 3rd at 5:30 in the Faculty Club, Join us to hear Williams professor Peter Low discuss the history & ongoing restoration of Notre Dame.
Until well into the twentieth century Paris was seen not as the Capital of France, but of the world. This was the view not merely of Parisians, but of most Westerners. The Eiffel Tower was the symbol of Paris, but Notre Dame the symbol of France.  When the crossword puzzle clue is « the Hunchback of… » no one writes Chartres.

The recent fire raises concern about the restoration.  Many tourists (sans Michelin) do not know that the Gargoyles are from the 19th century, but the overall effect works.  Notre Dame of Paris is perhaps the major, often only Gothic building that many American tourists will have viewed in their lifetimes.  On July 16, 2019 the French parliament passed a law that the restoration must keep the Gothic appearance. Imagine a government that cares about Aesthetics and History!
Few persons are as qualified to discuss the restoration of Notre Dame as Professor Peter Low. He has given courses at Williams on Romanesque & Gothic Art & Architecture & is currently writing on: Building a Dwelling Place for God: The Narthex Portals at Vézelay and Ephesians 2:11-22 in Medieval Art. There is simply not enough space in our newsletter to list his many accomplishments so I will not try.

John Leavey F.A.A.R.
Member, Faculty Club Board of Governors

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