Wrapping The Paris Famous Landmark, Arc de Triomphe, in Fabric

Another installation from Christo and Jeanne-Claude has been revealed. The temporary art installation titled “l'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped” took place from September 18 to October 3, 2021. The famous landmark of Paris, The Arc de Triomphe has been covered by 25,000 square meters of fabric that are secured by 3,000 meters of contrasting red rope. This event was a form of fulfillment of the "life-long dream" of partners Christo and Jeanne-Claude, who are famous for their work on wrapping monumental buildings in the world.

Wrapped Arc de Triomphe by Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Christo Vladimirov Javacheff is a Bulgarian artist who is famous for his work of wrapping various world-famous landmarks such as The Pont Neuf in Paris and The Reichstag in Berlin. In working on the installation, he partnered with his late wife, Jeanne-Claude. For the Arc de Triomphe project itself, more than 1000 people worked under the supervision of Christo's team. Their work provides large-scale architectural interventions in urban and rural environments. Some other examples are Wrapped Coast in Australia, Valley Curtain in Colorado, Surrounded Islands in Miami, and many more across the world.

For this project, more than 1000 people worked under the supervision of Christo's team

This work of wrapping the famous Arc de Triomphe could only be realized after the death of Christo in 2020 at the age of 84 in New York City. The whole landmark was wrapped with recyclable blue fabric. His final realized project before his death was The London Mastaba which was a giant stack of brightly coloured barrels that were placed on the Serpentine Lake in London. 

The whole landmark was wrapped with recyclable blue fabric

Throughout the installation, the Eternal Flame, in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe, will continue to burn, and daily ceremonies and rituals will continue as usual. The Arc de Triomphe is also due another makeover as part of a wider masterplan to convert the iconic Champs-Élysées avenue into a pedestrian-friendly public space. For 16 days, during the event display, The Champs-Elysees was also transformed into a pedestrian-only area. As part of the improvements, green pockets were introduced around the monument and along the 1.9-kilometer road to improve air quality.

The whole landmark was wrapped with recyclable blue fabric

The working process of Wrapped Arc de Triomphe

The detail of Wrapped Arc de Triomphe