Le Pont des Arts, Paris

Le Pont des Arts / The Bridge of Arts or Passerelle des Arts is a pedestrian bridge in Paris which crosses the River Seine.

It links the Institut de France and the central square (cour carrée) of the Palais du Louvre, (which had been termed the "Palais des Arts" under the First French Empire).

Between 1802-1804, under the reign of Napoleon I, a nine-arch metallic bridge for pedestrians was constructed at the location of the present day Pont des Arts: this was the first metal bridge in Paris.

The engineers Louis-Alexandre de Cessart and Jacques Dillon initially conceived of a bridge which would resemble a suspended garden, with trees, banks of flowers and benches.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Le Pont des Arts, Paris, 1867-1868

Albert Lebourg | Paris, Le Seine at Pont des Arts

Jean Béraud (1849-1935) | Le Pont des Arts par grand vent, 1880-1881 | Metropolitan Museum of Art

On March 17, 1975, the French Ministry of Culture listed the Pont des Arts as a national historic monument.

In 1976, the Inspector of Bridges and Causeways (Ponts et Chaussées) reported several deficiencies on the bridge.

More specifically, he noted the damage that had been caused by two aerial bombardments sustained during World War I and World War II and the harm done from the multiple collisions caused by boats.

Armand Guillaumin (French painter, 1841-1927) | Le Pont des Arts, 1878

The bridge would be closed to circulation in 1977 and, in 1979, suffered a 60 metre collapse after a barge rammed into it.

The present bridge was built between 1981 and 1984 "identically" according to the plans of Louis Arretche, who had decided to reduce the number of arches from nine to seven, allowing the look of the old bridge to be preserved while realigning the new structure with the Pont Neuf.

Yvonne Canu | Le Pont Neuf Vu Depuis Le Port Saint-Pères À Paris

On 27 June 1984, the newly reconstructed bridge was inaugurated by Jacques Chirac, then the mayor of Paris.

The bridge has sometimes served as a place for art exhibitions, and is today a studio en plein air for painters, artists and photographers who are drawn to its unique point of view.

Giuseppe Canella (Italian painter, 1788-1847) | The Pont des Arts, Paris

The Pont des Arts is also frequently a spot for picnics during the summer.

The Argentinian writer, Julio Cortázar, talks about this bridge in his book "Rayuela".

When Horacio Oliveira goes with the pythia and this tells him that the bridge for La Maga is the "Ponts des Arts".

Guilloux, Charles Victor (French painter, 1866-1946) | Vue du Pont des Arts, 1905

In 1991, UNESCO listed the entire Parisian riverfront, from the Eiffel Tower to the end of the Ile Saint Louis, as a World Heritage Site.

Therefore the Pont des Arts is now a part of this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Jean Francois Raffaelli (1850-1924) | The Pont des Arts, Paris

Kees Van Dongen (Dutch painter 1877-1968) | Le Pont de Arts

Le Pont des Arts / The Bridge of Arts / Passerelle des Arts, venne realizzato sotto il regno di Napoleone I, tra il 1802-1804.

Progettisti: Louis-Alexandre de Cessart e Louis Gerald Arretche.

Il ponte è situato tra l’Institut de France e la piazza centrale del Palais du Louvre, dal quale il Pont des Arts prese il nome in quanto all’epoca in cui fu costruito il ponte era chiamato Palais des Arts.

Stanislas Lepine (French Impressionist painter, 1836-1892) | Le Pont des Arts

Nel 1979 il ponte crollò e ne fu costruito uno nuovo, simile al precedente, tra il 1982-1984.

Il Pont des Arts, oggi, rappresenta uno dei simboli della Parigi romantica, dove si rifugiano coppie e artisti attratti dal suo punto di vista unico.

Roland Vivian Pitchforth | Le Pont des Arts, 1922

Nel 1991, l'UNESCO ha elencato come Patrimonio Mondiale dell'Umanità l'intero lungofiume parigino, dalla Torre Eiffel alla fine della Le Saint Louis.

Pertanto Le Pont des Arts è ora una parte di questo patrimonio mondiale dell'UNESCO.

Edward Hopper (1882-1967) | Le Pont des Arts, 1907

Jean Béraud | Modiste sur le (Milliner on the) Pont des Arts, 1879-1882 | Sotheby's