At the end of July the time had come: the preparatory work for the wrapping of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris began. The implementation of the project planned by the artist duo Christo (1935-2020) and Jeanne-Claude (1935-2009) for several decades was actually supposed to take place last autumn, but had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The planning of L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped began in 1962. Christo and Jeanne-Claude were living in Paris at the time, after meeting and falling in love a few years earlier, and had come to appreciate each other as partners in a shared artistic vision. However, the project on Place Charles de Gaulle (formerly Place de l'Étoile) was not implemented at the time.
Instead, in 1984 Christo and Jeanne-Claude obtained permission to cover another Parisian structure, the Pont Neuf. The oldest surviving bridge in Paris – which, when completed in 1607, was also the first bridge in the city to cross both banks of the Seine connected with each other – was wrapped in 40,000m² of sand-coloured polyamide fabric from 25 August to 22 September 1985.
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The Arc de Triomphe’s construction began in 1806 after Napoleon's victory in the Battle of Austerlitz. For this project, 25,000m² of recyclable polypropylene fabric will be required to cover it, to be affixed by red ropes of a total length of 3,000 m. The blue fabric will be covered with a silver colour, appearing blue, grey or white depending on the light. The implementation of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's vision will cost the not inconsequential sum of €14 million (£11.8 mil). This, however, was put together by Christo himself by getting sponsors interested in the project and selling sketches and collages that he had made in his adopted home, New York.
This long-planned veiling was so important to Christo, who passed away on 31 May 2020, that he even recorded its implementation in his will. His meticulously prepared plans and instructions will make his dreams become a reality.
L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped will be on view in Paris from 18 September to 2 October 2021.
