Arc de Triomphe wrapped in posthumous art installation by Christo and Jeanne-Claude on September 24, 2021, in Paris, France

© Bruno de HOGUES/Getty Image

An icon is ‘Wrapped’. World Art Day

To celebrate World Art Day, we’re taking a look at one of the greatest triumphs (pun intended) of public art—last fall’s ‘L’Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped,’ by the late artists Christo and wife Jeanne-Claude. Completed and staged 16 months after Christo’s death at age 84, ‘Wrapped’ was the fruition of an idea 60 years in the making. On view for 16 days from Saturday, September 18 to Sunday, October 3, 2021, the project required 269,000 square feet of recyclable silvery-blue polypropylene fabric that completely covered the monument. The fabric glistened and glimmered with the changing light of Paris. The pleated fabric was held fast to the arch by nearly three kilometres of red rope.

Over the decades, Christo and artistic partner Jeanne-Claude created several large-scale installations at famous landmarks around the world, using fabric in tandem with landscapes and structures like Berlin’s Reichstag and New York’s Central Park.

World Art Day was declared by the International Association of Art, a UNESCO partner, as an international celebration of the fine arts, and to promote awareness of creative activity all over the world. It is celebrated every April 15, which also aptly marks the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci, the embodiment of creativity.