Neuf Lignes Obliques, Steel sculpture on the Promenade des Anglais, Nice, France
Neuf Lignes Obliques is a sculpture by Bernar Venet made of nine corten steel beams, each 30 metres long, resting on one base and meeting at their top. The beams lean at an oblique angle and stand on a low metal plinth above a 130-tonne concrete foundation. It is installed on the esplanade Georges Pompidou, facing the Promenade des Anglais.
The sculpture was put in place in 2010 to mark 150 years since the County of Nice joined France in 1860. That moment was one of the most defining political changes in the history of this part of the Mediterranean coast.
The beams are named for the nine valleys of the old County of Nice, a reference chosen by Mayor Christian Estrosi when he commissioned the work from Bernar Venet, a sculptor born in the Nice region in 1941. Venet built his reputation on steel sculptures after moving to the United States. The piece was inaugurated on 31 May 2010.
Neuf Lignes Obliques stands on the esplanade Georges Pompidou, a square at the south end of Vieux-Nice facing rue Sulzer, with the quai des États-Unis and the Promenade des Anglais on its south side. The beams rest on a low metal plinth at ground level, so the base is visible up close.
Two years after it was first put up, the sculpture was moved about 33 feet (10 meters) from its original spot so it could be seen more easily from the promenade. That shift also changed the way the beams line up against the horizon when viewed from the waterfront.
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