Notre-Dame de Rheims Cathedral original signed etching by Pontoy

Notre Dame de Rheims Cathedral is an original signed etching by French artist Henri Jean Pontoy ( 1888-1968 ). Pontoy was the last painter of the Neo-Classical Orientalist School and was part of the Tunisian salon. This original etching is in good condition with a few short tears along the outer edges.       Notre-Dame de Rheims, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the French city of the same name on the Vesle River east-northeast of Paris, the archiepiscopal see of the Archdiocese of Reims. The cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was the site of 25 coronations of the kings of France. The cathedral, which was begun in 1211 under the   auspices of Archbishop Aubry de Humbert and designer Jean d’Orbais, was modeled on Chartres Cathedral  (begun about 1194) and was intended to replace an earlier church destroyed by fire in 1210. The main construction was overseen by four different architects and lasted some 80 years; expansions and decorative work continued on the church for centuries. Notre-Dame, which was ravaged by a devastating fire in 2019, is  closed to visitors and is still being rebuilt with plans to partially reopen in 2024, just in time for the Olympic Games in Paris.