Christo

CHRISTO (Bulgaria, 1935–U.S., 2020) and JEANNE CLAUDE DE GUILLEBON (Morocco, 1935–United States, 2009).
“The Arc de Triomphe de L’Etoile, Wrapped (Place Charles de Gaulle, Paris),” 1970.
Lithograph, print no. 92/300.
Signed and numbered.
Measurements: 48 x 66 cm; 65 x 80.5 cm (frame).

Any tourist lucky enough to stroll past the Arc de Triomphe in Paris in late September and early October 2021 would most likely be in for a stunning surprise: the iconic monument had been wrapped by Christo and Jeanne-Claude with 25,000 square meters of recyclable silver-blue polypropylene fabric and 3,000 meters of red rope. The history of this project dates back to 1961 when, three years after meeting in Paris, Christo and Jeanne-Claude began creating works of art in public spaces. One of their projects was to wrap a public building. The Christo and Jeanne-Claude Foundation itself states, “When he arrived in Paris, Christo rented a small room near the Arc de Triomphe and was drawn to the monument from that moment on.” In 1962, he created a photomontage of the wrapped Arc de Triomphe, as seen from Avenue Foch, and in 1988, a collage. Sixty years later, the project finally came to fruition.”

Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s “wraps” have had a significant impact on the history of contemporary art. This couple of conceptual artists conceived the idea of wrapping public monuments to create a double effect: making something visible by concealing it. Emblematic statues and buildings generally go unnoticed, so Christo, beginning in the 1970s, set out to redefine them (though most remained only as projects, with plans, drawings, etc.), opting for a form of art that was at once grandiose and ephemeral.

A renowned artistic duo of the late 20th century, Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s wrapped objects are among the most extreme examples of conceptual art. Christo Valdimirov Javacheff studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia from 1952 to 1956, and then spent a year in Prague. In 1957, Christo fled the socialist state and settled in Vienna, from where he traveled to Geneva and finally to Paris. His life in Paris was marked by financial hardship and social isolation, which was exacerbated by his difficulty in learning French. He earned money by painting portraits, which he compared to prostitution. In January 1958, Christo created his first “wrapped art” piece; he covered an empty paint can with a canvas soaked in acrylic paint. Christo and Jeanne-Claude met in Paris in November 1958. In 1961, he undertook what would be his first project involving large-scale objects, wrapping barrels in the port of Cologne. In 1962, Christo and Jeanne-Claude undertook their first monumental project, “Rideau de fer,” as a statement against the Berlin Wall. The work consisted of blocking Visconti Street, which runs along the river, with oil barrels. Although Christo was simultaneously holding his first gallery exhibition, it was the Visconti project that brought him to prominence in Paris. In 1964, the couple settled in New York. In 1968, they participated in Documenta 4 in Kassel, and in 1969 they undertook one of their most famous projects: wrapping the coastline of Little Bay in Sydney, Australia. Since then, they have carried out numerous large-scale projects around the world, including “Running Fence” and “Wrapped Walkways” in the United States, “Pont Neuf” in Paris, “Umbrellas” in the United States and Japan, and the Reichstag building in Germany.