Axelle Ponsonnet: Notre-Dame’s memory
On 15 April 2019, Notre-Dame-de-Paris went up in flames, leaving thousands of spectators stunned and speechless. More than a year later, after the project to rebuild the cathedral was approved, Axelle Ponsonnet joined the firm of Pascal Prunet – one of the three heritage architects in charge of the project. On site, she discovered the scars left by the flames on the medieval stonework. The beauty of this fragile edifice caught the architect’s eye. For four years, she immortalised the great hours of Notre-Dame’s construction through her drawings.
Clémentine Roland
« La scierie des géants », décembre 2021. Crayon, 15×40cm
The reconstruction of the spire began in the forest, where oak trees with exceptional dimensions and particular curves were selected.
In the spring of 2019, Notre-Dame was consumed by flames and left without its framework, roof, part of its vault and its spire. Although work to secure and consolidate the building got under way quickly, it was not until July 2020 that the restoration project for the cathedral by Philippe Villeneuve, Rémi Fromont and Pascal Prunet, chief architects of historic monuments, was approved.
« La voûte effondrée : les cintres », décembre 2022. Crayon, 32×50cm
The first wooden arches were erected on the site of the old cross vault, which collapsed when the spire fell during the fire. These highly technical framework structures allowed the reconstruction of the diagonal arches and the vaulted ceilings.
En décembre 2020, récemmeIn December 2020, Axelle Ponsonnet, a graduate of ENSA Paris-Belleville, joined Prunet Architecture to work on the Notre-Dame reconstruction project. From conception to site supervision, she worked on rebuilding the framework and roofing. Somewhere between splendour and desolation, the strangeness of the ruined cathedral imposed itself on the architect. Captivated by the fantastic landscape created by the superimposition of tarpaulins and safety nets on the open vaults, she produced her first drawings early on – returning to the site in secret, outside of working hours. A year later, after receiving the blessing of her superiors and Pascal Prunet, her work came out of hiding.
« L’angelot de la clé de voûte », février 2023. Crayon, 30×50cm
Reconstruction of the cross vault.
« Les chimères attendent », juillet 2023. Pierre noire, 30×50cm
Amidst the machines, dust extraction pipes and sculpting tools, the chimeras sit in the workshop at the foot of the cathedral, waiting to find their rightful place.
Initially driven by a rigorous documentary approach, Axelle Ponsonnet gradually allowed herself to depict isolated situations that enchanted or moved her. ‘In my first drawings, I felt obliged to be accurate and precise, to depict images that reflected reality; I gradually detached myself from this constraint by producing abstract drawings that were less detailed or less finished – partly because, in the rush of the works, I sometimes didn’t have enough time to complete my sketches.’
« La nef. Les charpentiers posent le bouquet », mars 2024. Sanguine, 30×50cm
After rebuilding the choir frame, the nave frame is now complete, giving back to the cathedral the “oak forest” that disappeared in the fire. Hanging from the trusses, the carpenters lay the bouquet, a final gesture before leaving the site.
At home, drawing on her meticulous knowledge of the building and the impressions left by the construction site, Ponsonnet began a series of more expressionist monotypes. ‘I chose this technique, halfway between painting and engraving, to work on distant nocturnal views of the cathedral, whose silhouette was completely altered by the installations and lighting on site, creating a new form in this urban environment.’
« La construction de la flèche », juillet 2023. Monotype, 35×25cm
‘My practice of architecture is intimately linked to these drawings, as I understood everything I drew. At the same time, drawing helped me to understand the shapes and proportions of buildings. There was this sort of duality between the technical aspects of my work as an architect and the different sensibility that drawing allowed me to feel towards the texture of the burnt stone, or the patterns and shapes created by the scaffolding.’
« La construction de la flèche », février 2024. Monotype à l’encre sépia, 17×26cm
A study in light, the cathedral seen from the Pont de la Tournelle.
« La construction de la flèche », mars 2024. Monotype à l’encre gris de Payne, 16×30cm
Light study, the cathedral seen from the Louis Philippe bridge, with the scaffolding dismantled.
Altogether, the architect produced around sixty drawings over four years. Studied separately, they recount ‘anecdotes’, the ordinary, everyday moments of a building site – but their narrative force lies in the serial effect. A large selection of Axelle Ponsonnet’s work will be presented in early 2025 in a book to be published by Mitsu Éditions, in which the chronological relationship between the drawings will create the memory of a place and an exceptional building site.
For more information
Axelle Ponsonnet’s drawings can be seen on her Instagram account.
The book Balade dans Notre-Dame. Carnet de chantier, can be pre-ordered from Mitsu Éditions website.
