Beyond Notre Dame: Exploring Paris' Other Churches with Katherine Baker

While Notre Dame rightfully holds its place as one of Paris' most beautiful churches, it's certainly not the only architectural wonder to grace the City of Lights. In this conversation, we explore Parisian churches from the Romanesque through the Baroque, traveling across both the Right and Left Banks.

When you think of churches in Paris, Notre Dame is easily the first to come to mind. A must-visit for any tourist in the French capital, when the cathedral burned in April 2019 travelers were left without their number one architectural destination. While an incomparable tragedy, the loss of access to Our Lady has allowed for Paris’ other magnificent churches to receive some much deserved attention. In this conversation, we explore the ground less traveled, looking at these somewhat neglected extant churches. As part of the journey, we not only cover ground in the literal sense, moving across the city’s many neighborhoods on both the Right and Left Banks, but also in the figurative, in that the churches cover a large chronological swarth of the city’s history. From the Romanesque to the Gothic, the Renaissance to the Baroque, this conversation will allow us to discuss the salient features of each style, while also discovering the special circumstances and stories of each building.

Led by an expert on medieval and early modern French art, Dr. Katherine Baker, this interactive seminar will provide attendees with a new view of Parisian church architecture. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will not only come away with an increased understanding of the stylistic features of French architecture from the Romanesque to the Baroque, but also an appreciation for each building’s unique characteristics, forging a new map of the must-visit spaces in the city of Lights.

Katherine Baker received her Ph.D. in art history at the University of Virginia in 2013. A research fellow at Institut national d'histoire de l'art, first through a Kress Institutional Fellowship and later as an invited researcher, she completed a dissertation on collaborative making in Paris around 1500 while in residence. With a particular interest in what the archival record can tell us about lost artistic production, her current project examines the estate inventory of Chicart Bailly, a Parisian ivory carver from the early 16th century

This conversation is suitable for all ages

90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.