Paris's Pont Neuf wrapped again 40 years after Christo

DesignArt
24 May 2026 • 4:49 PM MYT
DPA International
DPA International

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Image from: Paris's Pont Neuf wrapped again 40 years after Christo
French artist JR has transformed Paris’s Pont Neuf into a cave-like landscape, titled "La Caverne du Pont Neuf," as a tribute to Christo's 1985 wrapping of the city's oldest bridge in over 40,000 square metres of gold-coloured fabric. (is associated with: «Paris's Pont Neuf wrapped again 40 years after Christo») Sabine Glaubitz/dpa

Paris's Pont Neuf has been given a new makeover 40 years after Christo famously wrapped the French capital's oldest bridge in fabric.

The French photographer and street artist JR has created a spectacular work entitled "La Caverne du Pont Neuf" or the Pont Neuf cave that transforms the bridge into a grotto that can be walked through.

The inflatable work measures 120 metres in length, 20 metres in width and rises to a maximum of 18 metres. It opens to the public on June 6.

The project pays tribute to Christo and Jeanne-Claude, who gained renown for wrapping iconic structures - most famously Berlin's Reichstag Building in 1995.

Punk musician Thomas Banalter provides the aural backdrop to the artwork.

Explaining his choice of theme, JR told dpa: "The cave is something that all cultures share. It represents origin, fear, the unknown - perhaps also the womb."

La Caverne du Pont Neuf is the French artist's largest project to date. He has gained a reputation in the past for large-format photographic installations in public areas, for example along the Separation Barrier between Israel and the West Bank and along the US-Mexican border.