With great sadness the world witnessed the destruction by fire of significant parts of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris yesterday. Recollections of our visit several years ago–standing beneath the marvelous rose windows and walking among the rooftop gargoyles and chimeras–reminds us why we treasure the architectural and artistic achievements of the past. Those moments stamp the memory forever.
This quote comes from “The Art of the White City” by Will H. Low in Some Artists at the Fair (Scribner’s, 1893).
“There are certain mastering impressions in one’s life, certain scenes which stamp the memory … Such a memory is that of a first sunny morning in Paris: a ride from the Madeleine across the Place de la Concorde, along the Tuileries Gardens and the Louvre, across the Seine with the island and Notre Dame in the distance, and then through older Paris to the gardens of the Luxembourg … These memories, common to so many, are often gained on ground made familiar through study of guide-books and photographs which, instead of dulling realization, add to it the zest of more thorough appreciation. In like manner, study, discussion, photographs, and engravings prepare one for the Columbian Exposition; but the first few hours of living in its architectural dreamland gives reality to the shadowy preconception, and adds the priceless gift of another masterpiece to memory’s picture-gallery.”
Childe Hassam’s 1888 impressionist painting, Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris.