Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Christo and Jeanne-Claude were an artist married couple. Christo discovered his artistic ability at an early age. He was born in Bulgaria and later moved to Paris, France to pursue his passion for art. While in Paris, he was drowned in social isolation and earned little income by painting portraits.

Jeanne-Claude was born in Casablanca, Morocco. Her parents were French, but her father was in the French military and was stationed there. During World War 11, they returned to Paris.

Jeanne-Claude and Christo met through Christo painting a portrait of her mother. At the time Jeanne-Claude was engaged to Phillippe Planchon, but her true love was Christo and she found out she was carrying his baby and ended the relationship with Phillippe. Jeanne-Claude and Chisto moved to New York City to aspire their artistic dreams. They barely had any money. Their occupation was to decorate store fronts. The store fronts they decorated stirred a lot of attention and many started to notice the capability of their artistic and influential skills.

One famous work of Jeanne-Claude and Christo are "The Gates". "The Gates" were inspired by the torii gates that line the paths of the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, Japan. "The Gates" were composed of pieces of vinyl that ran 23 miles long in Central Park, New York. The cost of the construction and materials rounded to about $21 million. "The Gates" took about a month until it was completed. They ended up only lasting about one month.


Another well known project of Christo and Jeanne-Claude was the "Running Fence". The "Running Fence" was another fabric piece that went for 24.5 miles and was 18 feet high. It was constructed on the hills of Sonoma and Marin in northern California. It was removed within 14 days and people claimed it was not artwork and a waste of money.

Jeanne-Claude and Christo used the artistic technique of Nouveau Réalisme which means 'new realism'. Artists who used this technique took different aspects of the world and they would incorporate them into their works. Example: The "Running Fence" symbolized the Continental Divide in Colorado.

Their art is also considered Environmental Art, which means that the artists became really connected with the environment surrounding them and incorporated it into their work.

The significance that Christo and Jeanne-Claude's artwork is exposing people to the culture of being environmentally conscious and being aware of the beauty and delicacy of the environment.

Major themes that Jeanne-Claude and Christo address would be the 'gates' or 'fences' that are exaggerated and stretched for many miles. They also relate to being flowy with design and movement in their artwork.

Wrapped Reichstag, Berlin

Surrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida

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