The River, Project
1992
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
collage with charcoal, graphite, colored pencil, and conté crayon, and enamel paint on paperboard
Dimensions
overall: 27.9 x 35.6 cm (11 x 14 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Dorothy and Herbert Vogel Collection
Accession Number
2001.9.3
Art Historical Context
Christo's *The River, Project* (1992) invites visitors into the meticulous planning phase of one of the artist's iconic large-scale environmental works. This intimate collage on paperboard—measuring just 11 x 14 inches—blends charcoal, graphite, colored pencil, conté crayon, and enamel paint to sketch a bold vision of transforming a river landscape. As a preparatory drawing, it exemplifies Christo's hands-on approach to envisioning temporary fabric wrappings that dramatically alter natural and urban spaces. Renowned for his collaborative spectacles with Jeanne-Claude, such as the wrapped Pont...
About the Artist
Christo
Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, born on June 13, 1935, in Gabrovo, Bulgaria, emerged from a childhood marked by wartime upheaval and a bohemian family environment that nurtured his artistic inclinations. The second of three sons to a textile manufacturer father and a politically active mother who worked at Sofia's Academy of Fine Arts, Christo received private art lessons from a young age, with his ...