Christo and Jeanne-Claude

CHRISTO (Bulgaria, 1935–U.S., 2020).
“Wrapped Monument to Leonardo (Project for Piazza della Scala, Milan), 1971.
Lithograph, print no. 38/99.
Signed and numbered by hand.
Printed by Matthieu AG, Zurich.
Measurements: 55.4 x 74.5 cm.

“Wrapped Monument to Leonardo, Project for Piazza della Scala, Milan” was an installation created by Christo and Jeanne-Claude in November 1970 in Milan, as part of the celebrations marking the tenth anniversary of the Nouveau Réalisme movement. The project involved completely wrapping the monument to Leonardo da Vinci located in Piazza della Scala with polypropylene fabric and red ropes, temporarily transforming one of the most recognizable monuments in the city’s historic center. The original monument, designed by Pietro Magni and unveiled in 1872, depicts Leonardo surrounded by four of his disciples. By covering it, Christo momentarily eliminated the historical and sculptural interpretation of the work to emphasize solely its volume, its spatial presence, and its relationship with the surrounding architecture.

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. Since iconic statues and buildings generally go unnoticed, 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.