Notre‑Dame Portals: Tympana, Archivolts, Saints

Notre‑Dame’s portals are public classrooms. Tympana narrate doctrine; archivolts echo the cosmic order; jamb statues mentor pilgrims.

🪨 Program & Placement

• Central portal: Majors themes of Judgment and Mercy.
• North portal: Marian cycles and narratives.
• South portal: Saints and ecclesial histories.

🔎 Craft & Conservation

• Stone selection: High‑quality limestone resists erosion.
• Cleaning cycles: Dry micro‑abrasion and water mists renew surfaces.
• Detail mapping: Joints, losses, and biological growth are charted.

🧭 Reading the Tympanum

• Registers: Narrative read left → right, bottom → top.
• Icon cues: Hands, books, and attributes index identity.
• Composition: Symmetry conveys doctrine.

📋 Conservation Checklist

• Photogrammetric survey of reliefs
• Biological cleaning (soft methods)
• Micro‑grout injections pending

Notre‑Dame teaches through carved pedagogy—the city learns by walking.