The restoration work being carried out on the Pantheon is one of largest projects in Europe and the monumental self-supporting scaffolding system is a great technical feat.

The Centre des Monuments Nationaux has chosen to commission contemporary artist JR to create a participatory work inspired by his INSIDE OUT project, encapsulating the humanistic and universal values embodied by the Pantheon.

To create this work that surrounds the drum of the monument's dome, portraits were collected in March 2014 from photos that were uploaded to this website, and at nine national monuments over France thanks to JR's Photo Booth truck.

JR’s installation covers the dome, the cupola, and the floor of the Pantheon. The outside artwork will be exposed throughout the construction phase which is taking place on the Pantheon’s upper parts, whereas the inside installation will remain until the day after the “Nuit Blanche”, on October 5th, 2014.

 
The Centre des Monuments Nationaux

The archaeological sites at Glanum and Carnac, the Abbeys of Montmajour and the Mont-Saint-Michel, the Château d’If and Château of Azay-le-Rideau, the Domaine National de Saint-Cloud, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Savoye Villa are just some of the 97 national monuments that are owned by the state and entrusted to the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, which is celebrating its centenary this year.

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The Centre des Monuments Nationaux is the largest public operator of cultural and tourism sites in France with over 9.2 million visitors per year. It maintains exceptional monuments and opens them to the public together with their parks and gardens. They illustrate the wealth of French heritage in all its diversity.

monuments-nationaux.fr
JR

JR owns the biggest art gallery in the world. He exhibits freely in the streets of the world, catching the attention of people who are not typical museum visitors. His work mixes Art and Act, talks about commitment, freedom, identity and limit. After he found a camera in the Paris subway, he travels Europe, tracking the people who communicate messages via walls.

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Then, he started to work on the vertical limits, watching the people and the passage of life from the forbidden undergrounds and roofs of Paris. In 2011, he receives the TED Prize and wins a "wish to change the world". He creates Inside Out.

jr-art.net
 
Inside Out

INSIDE OUT is an international participatory art project that allows people worldwide to get their picture taken and paste it to support an idea and share their experience – as of January 2014, over 195,000 people from more than 108 countries have participated. Each Inside Out group action around the world is documented, archived and exhibited online.

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Inside Out Photobooths bring the printers directly to the streets - enabling the public to participate instantly and for free! Participants enter the Photobooth, make a strong face, and our camera snaps their portrait. Within one minute, a black and white poster is printed. Participants then take the posters to paste in a public space in their home communities. Dozens of thousands of portraits have been printed at Inside Out Photobooths locations around the world.

insideoutproject.net
You

During the month of March 2014 you have been more than 2500 to come have your photograph taken in JR’s photo booth truck, which visited nine national monuments, and more than 5000 to upload your photo to the website!

 
See the portraits wall!
 
Basilica of Saint-Denis - March 05

Come and visit the Basilica Cathedral of Saint Denis near Paris, the first monumental masterpiece of Gothic art. Discover the Royal necropolis and its collection of 70 sculpted recumbent statues - the only set of its kind in Europe - bathed in the multi-coloured light of the 12th- and 19th-century stained glass windows.

Address

1, rue de la Légion d'Honneur
93200 Saint-Denis

See the 272 portraits of this stage

All the latest news about the monument
City of Carcassonne - March 08

Discover the ramparts and the castle of the Counts of Carcassonne lying in the heart of the city - Gallo-Roman and medieval masterpieces of military architecture on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Explore one of the largest fortified towns in Europe, as well as one of the best conserved thanks to the restoration work carried out by Viollet-le-Duc in the 19th century.

Address

Château comtal de la cité de Carcassonne
11000 Carcassonne

See the 289 portraits of this stage

All the latest news about the monument
Angers Castle - March 12

Enter a vast fortress lying in the heart of Angers, a town of art and history. Marvel at the elegant buildings and gardens of the castle where the Dukes of Anjou held court, and admire the Apocalypse tapestry, the largest known tapestry from the Middle Ages.

Address

2 promenade du Bout-du-Monde
49100 Angers

See the 237 portraits of this stage

All the latest news about the monument
Carnac megaliths - March 15

Discover the Carnac alignments near the Morbihan Gulf. Explore the largest group of megaliths of this sort in the world, and a key place in European prehistory.

Address

Maison des Mégalithes au Ménec
56340 Carnac

See the 293 portraits of this stage

All the latest news about the monument
Towers of La Rochelle - March 19

The three towers of La Rochelle rearing up to face the Atlantic are some of the most important remaining medieval maritime fortifications. The terraces of the Saint Nicolas, Chaîne and Lanterne Towers are an ideal place to contemplate local history, offering outstanding views over the town and old port, with Fort Boyard and the islands of Aix, Oléron and Ré on the horizon.

Address

Tour Saint-Nicolas
Vieux port, rue de l’Armide
17000 La Rochelle

See the 276 portraits of this stage

All the latest news about the monument
Palais du Tau in Reims - March 22

Come and visit the Palais du Tau in Reims and discover a royal and episcopal residence associated with the coronation of 32 French kings, from the 11th century through to Charles X in 1825. Both the palace and the neighbouring cathedral are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Address

2 place du Cardinal-Luçon
51100 Reims

See the 255 portraits of this stage

All the latest news about the monument
Savoye Villa in Poissy - March 26

Come and visit the Savoye villa 33 kilometres north-west of Paris, a modernist manifesto built by Le Corbusier, one of the leading architects of the 20th century.

Address

Villa Savoye
82 rue de Villiers
78300 Poissy

See the 140 portraits of this stage

All the latest news about the monument
Hôtel de Béthune-Sully - March 27

Come and visit the hôtel de Béthune-Sully in the heart of the Marais, one of the finest Louis XIII buildings in Paris and the residence of the family of Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully, Henri IV's famous minister.

Address

62 rue Saint-Antoine
75004 Paris

See the 390 portraits of this stage

All the latest news about the monument
Pantheon in Paris - March 29

Come and visit the Pantheon (1764-1790), the masterpiece of the architect Soufflot, on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève in Paris. Discover the famous people buried in the crypt who marked the history and identity of France. Enjoy extensive views over Paris from the external colonnade around the dome.

Address

Place du Panthéon
75005 Paris

See the 500 portraits of this stage

All the latest news about the monument
© Patrick Cadet / Centre des monuments nationaux
© Alain Lonchampt / Centre des monuments nationaux
© Caroline Rose / Centre des monuments nationaux
© Philippe Berthé / Centre des monuments nationaux
© Philippe Berthé / Centre des monuments nationaux
© Jean-Luc Paillé / Centre des monuments nationaux
© FLC © ADAGP / Crédit photo : J-C Ballot / CMN
© Philippe Berthé / Centre des monuments nationaux
© Jean-Luc Paillé / Centre des monuments nationaux
Relive the Saint-Denis Step
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Relive the Carcassonne Step
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Relive the Angers Step
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Relive the Carnac Step
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Relive the La Rochelle Step
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Relive the Reims Step
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Relive the Villa Savoye Step
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Relive the Hôtel de Béthune-Sully Step
Relive the Panthéon Step
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