The Pyramid turns 30-years-old
On March 29, 2019, the Pyramid that sits outside the Musée du Louvre is celebrating its 30th birthday. Under the initiative of François Mitterand, the glass and metal structure, almost 70 feet tall, was designed by Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei and opened in Cour Napoléon on March 29, 1989. When the project was announced in 1984 it caused controversy, despite today being emblematic of the Louvre and photographed by throngs of tourists daily.
Birthday celebrations
Every 30th birthday deserves a party. A number of free activities will take place this weekend, retracting the history of the museum’s signature structure. In the auditorium of the Louvre talks will revisit the Pyramid’s origins, from the laying of the foundations, to the assembly of the structure’s 95 tons of steels and 105 tons of aluminum. Don’t miss the exhibition La pyramide a 30 ans. Son histoire en photos avec Paris Match, with free entry to the Jardins du Carrousel.
JR’s optical illusion
Three years after making the Pyramid disappear in a monumental optical illusion in which French artist JR, with the help of 400 participants erected a giant collage on the Pyramid’s side, playing with its dimensions and revealing the foundations of the Cour Napoléon. The secret to this playful trick of the eye will be revealed on two giant screens outside the Louvre, to see the ‘inside-the-making’ of his work in quick-time, an installation dubbed Secret de la grande pyramide by the street artist.
Les 30 ans de la Pyramide du Louvre, until March 30, 2019, 75001 Paris
Translated by Ashe de Sousa
