Last Judgment portal, Reims Cathedral, north transept facade, east portal.
Dr. Jennifer M. Feltman is an Associate Professor of Medieval Art and Architecture at the University of Alabama and a specialist in Gothic architecture and sculpture. Her research addresses issues of the restoration of Gothic cathedrals, uses of virtual reality (VR) in cultural heritage and education, and the analysis and interpretation of Gothic sculpture.
She is co-director of the Limestone Sculpture Provenance Project, a member of the Chantier scientifique de Notre Dame, (CNRS), a team of scientists and historians commissioned by the French Ministry of Culture to study the cathedral as it is being restored, and a member of the research team studying the recently excavated sculptures of the choir screen of Notre-Dame de Paris.
Feltman has written widely on Gothic architecture and its restoration. Her books include the edited volume, The North Transept of Reims Cathedral: Design, Construction, and Visual Programs (Routledge, 2016); The Long Lives of Medieval Art and Architecture, (Routledge, 2019), co-edited with Sarah Thompson; and Moral Theology and the Cathedral: Sculptural Programs of the Last Judgment in France, c. 1200-1240 (forthcoming, Brepols). This new book illuminates the ways in which Parisian moral theology was disseminated through clerical networks across the dioceses of France and made visible in sculptural programs at the cathedrals of Chartres, Paris, Reims, and Amiens. The companion website can be accessed under the Last Judgment tab on this page. Both the website and book were supported by the National Endowment of the Humanities.
Feltman is currently directing the Notre Dame in Color project, an international collaborative research project that brings together scientists, artists, and art historians to enrich our understanding of the multi-chromatic environment of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris. Together, we are documenting, analyzing, and developing new digital visualizations of the polychromed sculptures of Notre Dame in order to preserve the cathedral for future generation. This multi-year project has received seed support from an Albertine Foundation Transatlantic Research Partnership, the University of Alabama Office of Research and Economic Development, University of Alabama Collaborative Arts Initiative, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
With seed funding from the Whiting Foundation, she directed the development of a VR app for the Meta Quest. Designed for ages 13 and up, this app allows individuals to discover elements of Gothic architecture through no matter where they live. Her research and teaching have been further been supported by the Kress Foundation, the Medieval Academy of America, the International Center for Medieval Art, and the Association Villard de Honnecourt for the Interdisciplinary Study of Technology, Science, and Art (AVISTA).