L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped, a posthumous art installation by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, September 2021, 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 autumn’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 from 18 September to 3 October 2021, the project required 269,000 sq ft 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 in place by nearly two miles 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 is an international celebration of the fine arts and promotes awareness of creative activity all over the world. It is celebrated every 15 April, which also marks the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci.