Not often one of the world’s most iconic monuments of “modification”, but this fall the Arc de Triomphe in Paris gets a temporary new look after more than a year of delays due to the pandemic.
Last year, world-renowned artist Christo planned to wrap an arch of 270,000 square feet of silver-blue fabric and 23,000 feet of red rope, both of which are recyclable. Unfortunately, a pandemic and tough blockade measures by France delayed the project, and Christo died in May 2020.
The idea to wrap the Arc de Triomphe in cloth first came to Christo and his late wife, Jeanne-Claude, in 1962, when they lived in a small rented room near a Parisian monument. Although none of them will be there to see how their vision came true, a work called The Arc de Triomphe will be released after Bastille Day on July 14, 2021.
The construction of the 14 million euro project is expected to take 12 weeks, and the grand presentation of the new look is scheduled for Saturday, September 18, 2021. Then this object will be exhibited for 16 days until October 3.
“We can do this project without him today, because [Christo and Jeanne-Claude] have already developed all the visual and artistic aspects of this project. This project is 100% a project of Christo and Jeanne-Claude. He wanted it to happen even after he failed. We are just realizing his vision, “Hristo’s nephew Volodymyr Yavachev told The Guardian.
Christo is also known for his work, which envelops other attractions, such as the Reichstag in Berlin and the Pont Neuf in Paris. In June 2018, he created another large-scale public exhibition of more than 7,000 barrels of oil floating around Hyde Park in London.