"Notre-Dame Cathedral at this time. The river Seine, Paris."

Notre-Dame opened to the public in December, 2024 after the devastating fire of 2019. The restoration crews worked hard, and at the time my drawing was created for this painting, the work was being finalized, and the cranes continued to shelter the cathedral and aid it’s reconstruction.

For this design, I was inspired by the shape of the Seine river coming towards me as I stood on the Pont de la Tournelle (the Tournelle Bridge). The trees by the river are green along the walkway to our left, next to the river; and the red shape at the bottom of the frame is the base of the bridge (another shape that I spoke to me as a drew). Notre-Dame stands in the center on her island, Ile de la Cité, with the cranes standing over her, helping her rebuild and become strong again.

On the right side of the scene is the Île Saint-Louis with it's majestic buildings and inviting passages.