After years of planning and two weeks on display, the epic installation titled L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped, by the late artist couple Christo and Jeanne-Claude, ended on October 3. Photographers captured the spectacular temporary artwork from start to finish.
It's A Wrap For Late Bulgarian Artist's Arc De Triomphe Installation
- By RFE/RL
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Workers unfurl massive rolls of blue fabric coated in "pulverized aluminum" as work gets under way on wrapping Paris's Arc de Triomphe on September 12.
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Monuments on the sides of the Napoleonic arch were covered in a framework of steel to prevent damage before the fabric was unfurled.
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A mock street sign near the Arc de Triomphe renames the central Paris landmark after Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The couple were born in Bulgaria and Morocco, respectively, on the same day in 1935. The late artists were famous for creating some of the most spectacular and logistically challenging artworks ever made, including the Wrapped Reichstag in Berlin and The Floating Piers.
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Vladimir Yavachev, the nephew of Christo, poses in front of the Arc de Triomphe. After the wrapping of the arch was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Christo died in May 2020 and the work of overseeing the project fell to Vladimir. Jean-Claude died in 2009.
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Workers install a framework around the arch. The team was given permission to drill into the stone of the Paris monument in some places.
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Workers on the top of the Arc de Triomphe use red rope to fix the fabric in place on September 16. The largest rolls of fabric are 8 meters wide and weigh around a ton.
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A view of the wrapped arch after its completion. According to Yavachev, his uncle Christo's life and art were strongly influenced by his experiences under communism in Bulgaria.
![The underside of the wrapped arch. Yavachev told CNN that while studying in Sofia in the 1950s, Christo painted a gloomy sky in a rural scene and was told that "it looked like [the sky] was oppressing the farmers, and there was a big discussion about it." The nephew recalled, "And that was something he despised, the weight of the system over him."](https://gdb.rferl.org/ce0ae4f8-dc2b-487b-9945-e87ae0113d06_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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The underside of the wrapped arch.
Yavachev told CNN that while studying in Sofia in the 1950s, Christo painted a gloomy sky in a rural scene and was told that "it looked like [the sky] was oppressing the farmers, and there was a big discussion about it." The nephew recalled, "And that was something he despised, the weight of the system over him."
Yavachev told CNN that while studying in Sofia in the 1950s, Christo painted a gloomy sky in a rural scene and was told that "it looked like [the sky] was oppressing the farmers, and there was a big discussion about it." The nephew recalled, "And that was something he despised, the weight of the system over him."
![Crowds gather to witness the wrapped arch on September 18. Christo himself vowed after fleeing Bulgaria's repressive communist government not to "give a millimeter of my freedom [away] and damage my art." None of the massive projects he and Jeanne-Claude made was funded with public money.](https://gdb.rferl.org/eb97031d-349c-4193-bedc-90b3cc52422a_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Crowds gather to witness the wrapped arch on September 18.
Christo himself vowed after fleeing Bulgaria's repressive communist government not to "give a millimeter of my freedom [away] and damage my art." None of the massive projects he and Jeanne-Claude made was funded with public money.
Christo himself vowed after fleeing Bulgaria's repressive communist government not to "give a millimeter of my freedom [away] and damage my art." None of the massive projects he and Jeanne-Claude made was funded with public money.
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A man poses for a picture alongside the wrapped base of the arch. The red, silver, and blue of the installation was an homage to the French flag.
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A corner of the arch in evening sunlight.
There are plans for one more massive artwork that Christo had spent years planning before his death in 2020. Yavachev will now oversee the creation of a pyramid of oil barrels that will be bigger than the great pyramids of Giza. The epic piece is planned to be built in Abu Dhabi in the coming years and, if completed, will be the world's largest permanent artwork.
There are plans for one more massive artwork that Christo had spent years planning before his death in 2020. Yavachev will now oversee the creation of a pyramid of oil barrels that will be bigger than the great pyramids of Giza. The epic piece is planned to be built in Abu Dhabi in the coming years and, if completed, will be the world's largest permanent artwork.
