Important Spring Sale Presents Christo & Jeanne-Claude

Christo & Jeanne-Claude

"Wrapped Reichstag (Project for Berlin)"

In 1971 the idea of wrapping the Reichstag Building in Berlin was born. Like all of Christo's large-scale art installations, the project was preceded by careful and meticulous planning. The funding consisted of proceeds from the sale of all Christo's projects, completed and planned.

"Wrapped Reichstag" became a symbol of the new Germany – it is simultaneously an artwork, a cultural and political happening, and a business project. The more than 100-year-old German parliamentary building was covered in 100,000 square meters of aluminium-coloured fabric held together by luminous blue ropes, all assembled with the help of a 220-ton steel structure. As with all of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's projects, it required refined logistics and an enormous staff of collaborators. 210 construction workers, including 90 specially trained climbers, 17 administrators, and 600 guides, served the audience and assisted in viewing the artwork.

When the reunited German government decided to move back to Berlin, Christo saw an opportunity to realize his 1971 idea and started an aggressive lobbying campaign, culminating in a parliamentary vote in 1994 to approve the project. It was the first time a parliament had voted on an artistic project.

Christo & Jeanne-Claude's art was as much about the process as the final product. They demonstrated this by having everyone involved in the project wear T-shirts with the text "Wrapped Reichstag 1971-1995". The process began in 1971, where every early sketch, every letter to decision-makers, and every debate in the press and on the streets is in itself part of the artwork.