Thirty-Six Views of Notre Dame – Tomas van Houtryve

The exhibition, curated by the VII Foundation, features the work of photographer Tomas van Houtryve. For over ten years, he photographed Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral—first as part of the city’s everyday life, and later as a witness to its near-total destruction and subsequent restoration following the fire in April 2019. The exhibition tells the story of the fire and documents the cathedral in its original, damaged, and restored states.

From an attic window overlooking the cathedral to the top of a crane above the construction site, van Houtryve captured key moments of the reconstruction. He employed modern technologies, such as drones, as well as historical methods—including a 19th-century wooden camera—portraying this symbol of Paris through a blend of old and new visual language.

Notre Dame is more than just a church. For over eight centuries, it has been at the center of French life—a site of coronations, revolutions, wars, and the destination of millions of visitors from around the world. It has been ravaged, plundered, restored, and redefined. This exhibition offers an opportunity to reflect on what places like Notre Dame mean to us, how they connect generations, and why they are worth preserving—not just the stone and glass, but also the stories we continue to pass on.