Tomas van Houtryve: ‘Photographing Notre Dame became an obsession’
Michael Naulin | Blind | 7th December 2024
Notre Dame was derelict until Victor Hugo, writing in the 1830’s, extolled its symbolic value. Thus rescued, it acquired a uniquely Parisian identity, something apparent to Houtryve as he documented the rebuild. “I felt the mystery of the building. For Victor Hugo, Gothic architecture was the pinnacle of public storytelling … every stone told a story. Like its builders and restorers, [my images] are part of a story of transmission … an intergenerational project.” His photo-essay for National Geographic is here.