“I will never forget this day,” the Parisian street artist JR said on Wednesday. “Today I’m going to make the Louvre Pyramid disappear.”
The Louvre Pyramid was commissioned in 1984 by the French President François Mitterrand and designed by the legendary architect I.M. Pei. For over 30 years, the Pyramid has served as the main entrance to the Louvre and, like the museum itself, has become an iconic Parisian landmark, featured memorably in such films as The Da Vinci Code (2006). The Pyramid is flanked by two smaller glass pyramids, also in the Lourve courtyard, and mirrored underground by a stunning sister work, a skylight called “La Pyramide Inversée.”
Rest assured, JR’s disappearing act will not harm or move the Louvre Pyramid. His plan covers the entire structure with one of his famous, monumental anamorphic images. His image simply camouflages the Pyramid by matching it with the façade of the Louvre. From certain angles, the blending is seamless.
“It’s quite crazy being Parisian, passing the pyramid so often, then today realizing I can make changes to it and stick things on top of it to create my work,” said JR.
Due to the oblique angles of the Pyramid façade, JR needed to carefully calibrate the perspective of his image in order to achieve a seamless illusion. Perspectival tricks of this kind are a consistent feature of art history and thus a perfect fit for the Louvre.
In order to achieve his illusion, JR needed to carefully adjust the perspective of his image of the museum’s façade.
This isn’t the first time JR has made his mark on a Parisian landmark. In 2014, he coated the floor of the Pantheon with thousands of monumental photographic portraits. Indeed, portraiture is what JR is best known for: His portraits have covered buildings in cities as far flung as Istanbul and New York.
JR poses with his 2014 installation at the Pantheon, a mausoleum for France’s most distinguished citizens.
JR’s installation will be on display from May 25 through June 27. On Saturday, May 28, JR will host a day-long “takeover” of the museum, which will include discussions, films, music and guided tours.
If you happen to be in Paris this weekend, make sure to make a stop at the Louvre.
Images as credited © JR, Fabien Barrau, Getty Images, AFP, SIPA/REX/Shuttershock and Associated Press; hat-tip to CNN