JR's 5 Most Spectacular Giant Trompe-l'Œil Works from Paris to Florence
French artist JR, known for his monumental trompe-l'œil installations, is preparing to unveil 'La Caverne du Pont-Neuf' in Paris from June 6 to 28, 2025. The article highlights five of his most iconic works. In 2021, JR created 'Les Falaises du Trocadéro,' a giant photographic collage that made the Eiffel Tower appear to span a canyon. For UEFA Euro 2020, he installed 'Inside Out' across London, covering Tower Bridge and other districts with portraits of anonymous citizens, part of his global project launched in 2011. In 2015, 'Migrants, Walking New York City' featured a 50-meter-long portrait of Azerbaijani immigrant Elmar at the Flatiron Building, which made the cover of the New York Times Magazine. JR played with the Louvre Pyramid in 2016, making it seem to disappear, and in 2022 created an optical illusion on the Pyramid of Khafre in Egypt. During the pandemic, his 'La Ferita' at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence (2021) depicted a gaping wound revealing the interior of the palace. A concurrent exhibition 'JR' runs at Galerie Perrotin in Paris from June 5 to August 1, 2025.
Key facts
- JR's 'La Caverne du Pont-Neuf' will be open to the public from June 6 to 28, 2025.
- In 2021, JR installed 'Les Falaises du Trocadéro' at the Trocadéro in Paris, using anamorphosis to create an illusion of a canyon beneath the Eiffel Tower.
- For UEFA Euro 2020, JR's 'Inside Out' project covered Tower Bridge and neighborhoods including Lewisham, King's Cross, Tottenham, and Royal Docks with portraits of Londoners.
- The 'Inside Out Project' was launched by JR in 2011 and also deployed at the Panthéon in Paris in 2014.
- In 2015, JR's 'Migrants, Walking New York City' featured a 50-meter-long portrait of Elmar, a 20-year-old from Azerbaijan, at the Flatiron Building.
- The image of 'Migrants, Walking New York City' was published on the cover of the New York Times Magazine on April 23, 2015.
- JR created an optical illusion on the Pyramid of Khafre in Egypt in 2022, making its tip appear to levitate.
- In 2021, JR's 'La Ferita' at Palazzo Strozzi in Florence depicted a 28-meter-high by 33-meter-wide wound revealing the palace's interior.
- A solo exhibition 'JR' will be held at Galerie Perrotin in Paris from June 5 to August 1, 2025.
Entities
Artists
Institutions
- Connaissance des Arts
- New York Times Magazine
- Galerie Perrotin
- Palazzo Strozzi
- Palais Farnèse
- Louvre
- Flatiron Building
- Tower Bridge
- Panthéon
Locations
- Paris
- France
- London
- United Kingdom
- New York City
- United States
- Rome
- Italy
- Florence
- Egypt
- Trocadéro
- Lewisham
- King's Cross
- Tottenham
- Royal Docks
- Pont Neuf
- Cour Napoléon
- Pyramid of Khafre