The Arc de Triomphe is one of the most famous tourist destinations in all of Paris. But, for two weeks in 2020, visitors will see the 183-year-old monument in an entirely new way.
Famous artist Christo has taken on an ambitious project in which he plans to completely wrap the Arc de Triomphe in silvery-blue fabric and red rope from April 6 to April 19, 2020. According to the artist's website, the project will require 269,098 square feet of recyclable polypropylene fabric and 22,966 feet of rope to cover the iconic structure, which is 164 feet tall and 148 feet wide.
This wouldn't be the first time Christo has wrapped a public structure in Paris. According to his website, Christo and his late wife and art partner, Jeanne-Claude, wrapped the Pont-Neuf, the oldest-standing bridge across the Seine, back in 1985.
The couple also conceptualized and sketched the wrapped Arc de Triomphe throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The idea will finally come to life as a collaboration with the Centre Pompidou more than half a century after Christo and Jeanne-Claude had originally thought up the project.
- "Thirty-five years after Jeanne-Claude and I wrapped the Pont-Neuf, I am eager to work in Paris again to realize our project for the Arc de Triomphe," Christo said on his website.
- Christo did not immediately respond to INSIDER's request for comment.
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