Paris surrounds the Arc de Triomphe, as a posthumous work of Christo. Several hundred square meters of silver-blue recyclable polypropylene fabric were unfolded on one side of the Arc de Triomphe on Sunday , kicking off the final stretch of the “packaging” of the Parisian monument, the posthumous work of the artist Christo.
From September 18 to October 3, the dream of the artist (who died in May 2020) and his wife Jeanne-Claude will come true and the Arc de Triomphe, 50 meters high, will be completely transformed into a gigantic package as a gift, held by 3,000 meters of red rope. By 1985, Christo had already wrapped the Pont-Neuf, a bridge over the Seine in Paris, in the same way.
This time, after weeks of preparation, a team of 95 rope experts deployed this Sunday from the top of the Arc de Triomphe the first roll of cloth, on the side facing Avenida de Wagram.
The packaging, which will require 25,000 m2 of fabric, will continue day and night to be ready on September 18, the opening day.
“Today is one of the most spectacular moments of the installation. The packaged Arc de Triomphe is starting to come to life and is approaching the vision of what was the dream of a lifetime for Christo and Jeanne-Claude,” said Vladimir Yavachev , the artist’s nephew, who is supervising the project.
The project, at a cost of 14 million euros ($ 16.5 million), is entirely self-financed, without public subsidies, thanks to the sale of original works by Christo, preparatory drawings, souvenirs, models and lithographs.
