The Notre-Dame de Paris, which sustained a devastating fire Monday, has inspired writers, painters and filmmakers for hundreds of years. Here are some notable examples:
PAINTING: Henri Matisse painted it often— in intimate blue, a distant green, a pinkish haze. It served as a melancholy backdrop for William-Adolphe Bouguereau's "The Bohemian," while the interior provided a golden, grandiose aura for Jacques-Louis David's "The Coronation of Napoleon."
BOOKS: Think of books about Notre Dame and you'll inevitably begin with Victor Hugo's "Notre-Dame of Paris" (otherwise known as "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame"), his 1831 masterpiece. But Notre Dame also appears in works ranging from Balzac's "The Wrong Side of Paris" to the "Babar" and "Madeline" children's series.
FILE - In this Friday, June 3, 2016 file photo, a man paints the Notre Dame cathedral surrounded by the flooding Seine river in Paris, France. The Gothic structure, which sustained a devastating fire Monday, April 15, 2019, has inspired writers, painters and filmmakers for hundreds of years. (AP PhotoJerome Delay)
MOVIES: It's there, of course, in the adaptations of Hugo's novel, whether the 1939 version starring Charles Laughton, the 1956 remake with Anthony Quinn or the 1996 Disney musical featuring the voices of Tom Hulce and Demi Moore among others. You'll spot it, too, in the background as Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn converse in "Charade," and as Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy cruise along the Seine in "Before Sunset," as Hawke marvels at its surviving the Nazi occupation of World War II and Delpy responds, "But you have to think that Notre Dame will be gone one day."
MUSIC: "Dark was the night when our tale was begun/On the docks near Notre Dame," sing David Ogden Stiers, Paul Kandel and Tony Jay in the Disney film, the soundtrack composed by Alan Menken. In ABBA's "One Last Summer," it's a sentimental detail ("In the tourist jam, round the Notre-Dame/Our last summer/Walking hand in hand"). It's an object of awe in Garland Jefferies' "Jump Jump" ("We pass Notre Dame/So much history/So much bigger than me") and a brooding symbol in Roxy Music's "Europe" ("And here by the Seine/Notre Dame casts/A long lonely shadow").
FILE - In this April 6, 1974 file photo, Swedish pop group ABBA celebrate winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest on stage at the Brighton Dome in England. From left are Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Frida), Agnetha Faltskog, and Bjorn Ulvaeus. In their song “One Last Summer,” they write the sentimental detail, “In the tourist jam, round the Notre-DameOur last summerWalking hand in hand." (AP PhotoRobert Dear)
FILE - In this Friday, April 21, 2006 file photo, Babar author Laurent de Brunhoff poses for a photograph at Mabel's Fables bookstore in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Notre Dame cathedral appears in the “Babar” children’s series. (Nathan DenetteThe Canadian Press via AP)
FILE - In this October 1963 file photo, actors Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn are photographed for the film "Charade," aboard a boat in the Seine River near the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. The Gothic structure, which sustained a devastating fire on Monday, April 15, 2019, has inspired writers, painters and filmmakers for hundreds of years. (AP Photo)
