ABSTRACT
The principles of restoration developed from the 1830s concept of a conservative minimum intervention based on careful archaeological study, to a more drastic 'complete restoration' towards the middle of the century. Modern restoration, according to Eugene Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, had been exercised since the first quarter of the nineteenth century. In theoretical studies on ancient art, England and Germany had preceded France, and since then also Italy and Spain had developed a critical approach. Prosper Merimee and A. N. Didron had prepared the ground for the 'stylistic restoration' exploited in practice by Viollet-le-Duc in France and Sir Gilbert Scott in England. The principal restoration architect who influenced Gothic Revival and restoration practice in the Austrian Empire was Friedrich von Schmidt. For the restoration of Notre-Dame, there was a competition in 1842, in which Jean-Baptiste Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc were authorised to participate unofficially. In Vezelay, Viollet-le-Duc replaced the defective flying buttresses of La Madeleine with new ones to give necessary structural stability.
