In 2020, the artist Christo Vladimirov Javecheff left us, concluding an artistic journey of a life shared with his partner Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon. However, as a parting gift he conceptualised a work that you can admire from September 18th to October 3rd: the Arc de Triomphe wrapped. Discover it during your stay at the Roch Hôtel & Spa.
A titanic job: wrapping up the Arc de Triomphe
A symbol of Napoleonic grandeur, the Arc de Triomphe towers 50 metres over the magnificent Place de Charles de Gaulle, formerly the Place de l'Etoile, and is a focal point on the famous Avenue des Champs-Élysées. The plan to wrap it therefore presented a challenge that only Christo and his team could meet. Before his death, he had planned everything necessary to carry it out. Between September 18th and October 3rd, some 25,000 m² of recyclable polypropylene canvas and 3,000 m of cord formed from the same material will be used to wrap the famous monument.
Behind the technical prowess, the message
Christo and Jeanne-Claude are known for the impressive scale of their achievements and the technical skill this represents. Wrapping a string of islands off Miami, the Reichstag in Berlin and the Pont-Neuf remain iconic moments in their artistic journey. However, this approach can also be seen as a way to appreciate afresh the beauty of the monument or site and alert people to its potential fragility. Wrapping up a monument like the Arc de Triomphe, according to Christo, means establishing an interaction with the public, who can thus reclaim a form that is both revealed and hidden. It is also a reflection on the ephemeral.
At the very beginning of autumn, Paris offers a magical atmosphere. The beautiful days of summer are still a recent memory, the sweetness still present, but already the trees are adorned with red and yellow. Now is the time to take a wonderful stroll from your Roch Hotel & Spa to the Arc de Triomphe as wrapped by Christo!
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Le Roch Hotel & Spa, a 5-star hotel in the heart of the luxury district of Paris