Artist Christo’s dream fulfilled as Arc de Triomphe wrapped in fabric

After two months of work, the wrapping of Paris’ iconic Arc de Triomphe is now complete, thus fulfilling a life-long dream of late Bulgarian-French conceptual artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

Until October 3, the historic monument will be adorned with 25,000 square metres of silvery-blue fabric and 3,000 metres of red rope.

The long-awaited project of the duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude – neither of whom lived to see its completion – the adornment of the famous arch in 25,000 square metres of silvery-blue fabric and 3,000 metres of red rope, can be seen until October 3.

Jeanne-Claude died in 2009, and Christo died in 2020, after a long career in which the couple wrapped iconic buildings around the world including the Reichstag in Berlin and the Pont Neuf in Paris.

Before his death, Christo had already completed the plans for the Arc de Triomphe, which was originally scheduled to take place in the autumn of 2020.

But following the artist’s death at the age of 84 and due to the coronavirus pandemic, the project had to be postponed. The costs for the wrapping, around 14 million euros (16.4 milion dollars), were financed by Christo himself – among other things through the sale of sketches, collages and plans.

More than 1,000 workers, engineers and climbers worked on the project, the idea for which dates back to the 1960s.