A first giant sheet of fabric was draped down the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Sunday as work started to wrap the monument in a tribute to late artist Christo.

Arc De Triomphe Is Wrapped In Fabric, Fulfilling One Of Christo's Last Wishes It is "a sensual, popular and monumental gesture," says Carine Rolland, the deputy mayor of Paris in charge of culture.

The Arc de Triomphe took 30 years to build and sits in the center of Place Charles de Gaulle, on the western edge of the Champs-Élysées.

Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped was completed shortly after the artist’s death in 2020. Christo and Jeanne Claude's studio is currently working on completing a work conceived in 1977, The Mastaba ...

The Arc de Triomphe, a neoclassical structure commissioned in 1806 to commemorate French military victories, has since become a symbol of the nation’s identity.

Over the next few days, the entire Arc will be wrapped in 25,000 square metres (270,000 square feet) of fabric -- the signature of Bulgarian-born Christo, who died last year.