Watercolor on white paper – 11,81 x 7,87 inch – Unique work

No, she is not a politician, but THE symbol of Paris! She is 130 years old this year, measures 324 meters and weighs 7,300 tonnes. Some would say, “She’s a beautiful baby! ”

The Eiffel Tower shows up during the Universal Exhibition of 1889, celebrating the centenary of the French Revolution. She doesn’t just make friends, critics of the time, Guy de Maupassant, mostly. In La Vie Errante, 1890, he wrote: “tall and thin pyramid of iron scales, an unsightly and giant skeleton, the base of which seems made to bear a formidable monument of Cyclops and which aborts in a ridiculous and thin profile of a chimney factory. ” Nowadays, it’s 7 million visitors per year, so many friends since!

Her father Gustave Eiffel fought for her survival. She almost landed in Bolivia. Iron lace, high couture in structure! Every 7 years, she offers herself a little facelift through paints it in red, in yellow, and finally in an icy brown, suitable for this end of the year 2019!

Each year, Zeus, the god of lightning strikes the old lady. Spectacular scenes that delight photographers. When the sky is unleashed, she watches over all these tiny and vulnerable humans from here or elsewhere who pay tribute to her.

She also inspires thrill seekers, those “in search” of various and varied records. The Count of Lambert flew over her antennae in 1909; in 1984, it was Robert Moriarty J’s turn to graze the « grande dame » but below, this time; the clown Zavatta rides her on the first floor by bicycle in the 1950s; Taïg Khris, also on the first floor, breaks the record for skating into a void.

She can also act as an advertising medium for its sponsor at the time (between 1925 and 1934), the car manufacturer Citroën. The 7 letters of his name, 30 meters high each illuminated. In a few datas, this represents 90,000 kilometers of cables for 250,000 bulbs and a bill of 1.25 million francs for a year! When in love …