The Pont Neuf Wrapped

The Pont Neuf Wrapped, Paris, 1975–1985 (French: Le Pont Neuf emballé – Paris, 1975-1985) was a 1985 environmental artwork in which artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped the Pont Neuf in fabric. Planning for the project started in 1979. The artists put a model of the project in the window of La Samaritaine, a department store close to the bridge, in late 1981. Paris Mayor Jacques Chirac rejected the project in early 1982. An aide to the mayor snuck the permit approval into a pile of the mayor's papers, which he signed inadvertently in August 1984. When the mayor attempted to repeal the approval, Jeanne-Claude said she would show the press the letter as a symbol of his signature's worth, after which he dropped his case. In September 1985, the artists wrapped the bridge and its 44 streetlamps in a sandstone-colored fabric. The two-week installation attracted three million visitors.^[1] Artsy described the response as "sensational".^[2] Irish sculptor Corban Walker credited seeing the wrapped bridge on a 1985 trip to Paris with inspiring him to become an artist.^[3]

The wrapped bridge, September 1985