Christ the Redeemer is a colossal statue of Jesus that stands atop Mount Corcovado overlooking the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro. With arms outstretched as if embracing the city below, it is one of the most recognisable monuments in the world and an enduring symbol of Brazil.

The figure stands about 30 metres tall, set on a pedestal that lifts it higher still, atop a peak more than 700 metres above the sea. Its outstretched arms span some 28 metres, and from the city far below the white figure appears to float above Rio, watching over the harbour, the beaches, and the mountains.

Reaching the statue means ascending Corcovado through the surrounding Tijuca Forest, and the summit offers one of the most famous panoramas of any city on Earth. Before the monument was built, the peak was already a celebrated viewpoint, a bare rocky summit rising dramatically above the bay.

Mount Corcovado before the statue was built, the peak that would become one of the world's most famous viewpoints. Credit: Marc Ferrez (Public domain).
Mount Corcovado before the statue was built, the peak that would become one of the world's most famous viewpoints. Credit: Marc Ferrez (Public domain).

The idea of a great religious monument on Corcovado was discussed for decades before work finally began in the 1920s. Designed with the input of several engineers and artists and built largely of reinforced concrete, the statue rose slowly on its remote, steep summit.

Christ the Redeemer under construction in the 1920s, before the statue was completed. Credit: Núcleo de digitalização / IMS (Public domain).
Christ the Redeemer under construction in the 1920s, before the statue was completed. Credit: Núcleo de digitalização / IMS (Public domain).

The statue was clad in a skin of pale soapstone tiles, chosen deliberately: the stone is durable, weathers gracefully, and is gentle to work with, and it gives the monument its characteristic soft, pale finish. Building something so large on a remote mountaintop was a formidable feat of engineering for its time, and the completed statue was inaugurated in 1931 after about nine years of work.

Christ the Redeemer newly completed in 1931, atop Mount Corcovado. Credit: Núcleo de digitalização / IMS (Public domain).
Christ the Redeemer newly completed in 1931, atop Mount Corcovado. Credit: Núcleo de digitalização / IMS (Public domain).

Perched high on an exposed summit, the monument is struck by lightning many times a year. Crews periodically repair the damage and replace tiles, keeping a steady supply of the original kind of stone for the purpose, so that the figure remains pristine despite the battering of the elements.

Beyond its religious meaning as a symbol of Christianity, the statue has become inseparable from the image of Rio de Janeiro itself, its open arms a welcoming gesture that appears in countless photographs and films. It presides over the city's festivals, its football, and its daily life, a constant presence on the skyline.

In 2007 Christ the Redeemer was named one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World" in a global popular vote, cementing its status as a worldwide icon. A welcoming figure with open arms, it greets the millions of visitors who come to stand beneath it each year and gaze out over one of the most beautiful city settings on Earth.