Paintings rescued from the Notre Dame Cathedral fire are on display in Paris.

At the Mobilier National showroom in Paris exhibited paintings rescued from a fire in Notre Dame Cathedral five years ago. They have undergone extensive restoration and will soon be ready to return to the cathedral when it reopens after restoration.

Mobilier National is an organization that deals with the preservation of cultural heritage, including the restoration of works of art. After the fire that engulfed the main Paris cathedral on April 15, 2019, 13 paintings from the 17th century were brought here. They are part of a series of 76 canvases of biblical subjects painted by various artists between 1630 and 1707 to decorate Notre Dame.

Mobilier National restorers restored painting for more than four years. According to them, the paintings were damaged by smoke, soot and water from extinguishing the fire, but nothing irreparable happened.

The exhibition will last until July 24. At the end of the year, the paintings will move to Notre Dame Cathedral – it is planned to open to visitors this year.

• A fire in Notre Dame Cathedral occurred on the evening of April 15, 2019. The fire completely destroyed the upper part of the cathedral, the roof and the 96-meter spire. However, the stone walls survived, and the interior of the cathedral was preserved and sent for restoration.
• The restoration of the cathedral was complicated by the fact that due to the use of toxic materials such as lead by builders of past centuries, the area around Notre Dame had to be disinfected. In addition, restoration work was suspended during the coronavirus pandemic. Now the recovery is coming to an end. The cathedral is scheduled to reopen to the public no later than the end of 2024.