Le Mur tombé du Ciel, Mural painting in Nantes, France
Le Mur tombé du Ciel is a large-scale mural painted on a concrete wall at Place Alexis-Ricordeau in Nantes, created by David Bartex. The wall stands about 20 feet (6 meters) tall and 33 feet (10 meters) wide and is made to look like an old ruin, with a fake crater suggesting it fell from the sky.
The work was created in May 2011 for a street theater performance by the Royal de Luxe company called El Xolo. Originally planned as a temporary installation, the wall was permanently installed at Place Alexis-Ricordeau after the public responded warmly. Following an initial restoration, a more complete version was finished in 2018, funded by the company Kaufman & Broad.
The mural shows over a hundred figures from the history of Nantes, including Anne de Bretagne and Jules Verne. The style draws from Mexican mural painting, inspired by Diego Rivera, which gives the work an unexpected visual character.
The mural is outdoors and freely accessible at any time, with no entry fee or reservation needed. It is worth visiting during daylight hours to see all the details of the figures clearly.
David Bartex worked with a team of seven artists who together designed and painted all the figures on the wall. The concrete block was also moved to a more visible spot in the city after the first version stood in a less accessible location.
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