Nouveau Paris, de 1977 à nos jours

New Paris presents the major architectural and urban transformations that have shaped the Parisian landscape from 1977 to the present day. The exhibition brings together nearly 30 works—photographs, paintings, engravings, and lithographs—from the collections of the Musée Carnavalet – Histoire de Paris.

In 1977, the inauguration of the central section of the RER, the Châtelet–Les-Halles station, and the Centre Pompidou, in the heart of the capital, marked an important milestone. The great works of the 1980s shaped a new monumental city, such as Buren’s Columns at the Palais-Royal, in 1986, or the Louvre Pyramid, in 1989.

From September 22 to October 5, 1985, Christo and Jeanne-Claude proposed a Wrapped Pont-Neuf that captured the public imagination. In 2026, JR pays homage to them by installing La Caverne du Pont-Neuf. In relation to Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Paris projects and in echo to the installation La Caverne du Pont-Neuf (June 15–28, 2026), the artist JR presents a time capsule made in a material emblematic of Parisian rooftops: zinc.

In the outer neighborhoods, large housing estates emerge, as shown by Yves Bélorgey’s paintings. Recent acquisitions by the Musée Carnavalet – Histoire de Paris evoke these transformations, notably through works by Vera Röhm, Nathalie Gautier-Hartog, Caroline Bouyer, Sylvie Sandjian, Frédéric Chaume, and Geoffrey James. Jean-Claude Gautrand’s works recount how each person takes ownership of these new living spaces.

Artists presented:

The final room of the Carnavalet – Histoire de Paris collection route, devoted to the history of Paris from 1977 to the present, features a new display each year, renewing the perspectives on the capital’s recent history.